


The Scent of Sunshine and Moonlight

by hazardousgrace



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Abused Noctis Lucis Caelum, Abused Prompto Argentum, Aftermath of Violence, Alpha Cor Leonis, Alpha Gladiolus Amicitia, Alpha Somnus Lucis Caelum, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Altered Mental States, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe- No Astrals War, Anxious Noctis Lucis Caelum, Anxious Prompto Argentum, Ardyn Izunia Backstory, Blood and Violence, Cor Leonis is Prompto Argentum's Parent, Depressed Noctis Lucis Caelum, Depressed Prompto Argentum, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Ardyn Spoilers, Episode Prompto Spoilers, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Good Parent Regis Lucis Caelum, Graphic Description, Gun Violence, Handicapped Noctis Lucis Caelum, Harm to Animals, Healer Ardyn Izunia, Healthy Relationships, Hurt, Hurt Noctis Lucis Caelum, Hurt Prompto Argentum, Hurt/Comfort, Mates, Medical Conditions, Medical Experimentation, Medical Trauma, Medication, Medicine, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Ardyn Izunia, Omega Ignis Scientia, Omega Noctis Lucis Caelum, Omega Verse, Parent Cor Leonis, Past Sexual Abuse, Poor Prompto Argentum, Prompto Argentum Is a Sweetheart, Prompto Argentum Needs a Hug, Protective Cor Leonis, Regis Lucis Caelum Lives, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Content, Sexual Violence, Threats of Violence, True Mates, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:54:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 39,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22355968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazardousgrace/pseuds/hazardousgrace
Summary: THIS IS A VERY ROUGH STORY WITH SOFT, SWEET MOMENTS. THERE IS A LOT OF VIOLENCE INVOLVING PEOPLE AND ANIMALS."Thankfully, Dad still understood that he was more fragile than most. Why? He wasn’t entirely sure, but all the adults kept telling him that he needed help, that his body and mind were confused about his biology and what he was. He was an Omega, but sometimes something shifted and that’s what they all seemed to be afraid of or concerned about.Prompto frowned sadly to the window on his right, looking out to the street. He had to do a double-take at what he saw. There was no reason… Why would… Why would a black and gray dog- that looked exactly like the service dog gifted to the Prince by the Princess of Tenebrae- be sitting outside Prompto’s building…? He felt his heart stop as the dog seemed to make eye contact with him. His scent filled with panic and confusion and wafted through the bus."Someone is kidnapping Omegas in Insomnia and the Prince goes missing. For some reason, the Prince's dog keeps following Prompto everywhere he goes. Coincidence? Was the dog just looking for its human? Or was the dog following Prompto? Why was everyone so concerned for Prompto?
Relationships: Cor Leonis & Regis Lucis Caelum, Noctis Lucis Caelum & Nyx Ulric, Prompto Argentum & Cor Leonis, Prompto Argentum & Nyx Ulric, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Regis Lucis Caelum & Nyx Ulric
Comments: 14
Kudos: 40





	1. Missing Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Heaven's Delight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9310097) by [Winchester1989](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winchester1989/pseuds/Winchester1989). 



> THIS FIRST CHAPTER IS ROUGH TOWARDS THE END. THERE IS TALK AND DESCRIPTION OF INJURED ANIMALS/ANIMAL VIOLENCE AND DEPICTIONS/DESCRIPTIONS OF HUMAN DEATHS AS WELL. THIS STORY IS NOT GONNA BE 100% FLUFF FEST, THIS IS A VERY ROUGH STORY WITH SOFT, SWEET MOMENTS. I DO NOT WRITE THESE SCENES FOR ANYONE'S ENJOYMENT, IT IS TO PUT OBSTACLES AND HARDSHIPS TO DEVELOP CHARACTERS AND PLOT. IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE THESE THINGS OR JUST DON'T LIKE READING THEM, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS STORY. IT GETS WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER.

_ “ _ _ It's so much easier than you think, you try so hard. And every time you get it wrong, you get it right. You get it wrong but you get it right. You get it right…” _

“Prompto. School. Now.” Cor commanded with an irritated frown as he entered the living room to find the skinny blonde teen staring at the television screen like his life depended on it.

_ There are many suspects that are being brought in for questioning upon the disappearance of King Regis Lucis Caelum’s son, Prince Noctis. The King has not yet given a statement about his son’s disappearance, but the small bits of footage we’ve obtained shows the King’s anger and grief upon discovering his son missing. The Prince’s Kingsglaive may be charged negligence given the Shield was supposed to have been guarding the Prince when he turned up missing. Speculations have been made that a radical group may be rebelling against the possibility of an Omega, and a handicapable one at that, as the future King. _

The screen went black as the female newscaster finished her sentence. Prompto stayed put despite Dad (Cor) standing over him with his arms folded in displeasure. Prince Noctis was missing… Who would do such a thing? Were there really that many people  _ that _ offended by an Omega as King? Or was his handicapped nature what triggered them? Noctis was such a beautiful, quiet boy who never bothered anyone… Well, except for those kids that tried to pick on him… he may have thrown some cheap punches and ran over their feet with his wheelchair- but that was self defense! Whatever the reason was for his abduction, it couldn’t be justified.

“Prompto.” Cor snapped.

“S-Sorry, S-Sir,” Prompto stammered, adjusting the sweatband to better cover his right wrist.

“Did you touch up your mark?” Cor questioned as the blonde rose to his feet, stumbling to grab his bag and phone. 

“Y-yes, S-Sir,” Prompto answered, avoiding eye contact.

“Go to school.” Cor instructed, escorting Prompto out of the small apartment. “The Prince is none of your concern. Leave that to the Kingsglaive.”

“Y-yes, S-Sir,” Prompto murmured, his eyes stinging. 

“Stop the waterworks. We talked about this,” Cor reminded him, tone a bit gentler. “You get bullied enough as it is.”

“S-sorry, S-Sir,” Prompto apologized, wiping his eyes and standing off to the side of the teenagers waiting for the bus outside their building. 

“You remembered your medicine and your camera for photography class?” Cor gently pressed. Honestly, the boy could be so forgetful. When he was younger, it was endearing, but now it was concerning. It may be time to talk to the doctor about lowering the blonde’s dose and starting behavioral therapy…

“Y-yes,” Prompto responded, removing his backpack, opening it and showing the proof to his foster father. He hated his stammer so much and how he always caught that look in Dad’s eye that revealed the man felt responsible… It wasn’t Dad’s fault… He was just a weak A-Omega.

“Good. Remember, you have two hours max for your after school hobbies before you need to be home,” Cor nodded, pleased that his charge was showing some efforts at improving.

“Y-yes, S-Sir,” Prompto submitted, zipping his bag back up and shouldering it once more.

“Prom, aren’t you forgetting something?” Cor wondered aloud.

Prompto let a tiny smile take over his mouth for a total of five seconds before he embraced his guardian. Touch was very important no matter whether you were Alpha, Omega, Beta or any of the rarer classes. As they embraced, they made sure to inhale each other’s scents for good measure. Cor tended to smell like redwoods, aloe, and copper. Prompto on the other hand smelled like a spring rain spreading the smell of sweet pea, fresh grass, and sun-warmed linens with undertones of a stormy meadow, lightning struck trees, and gunpowder that worried Cor more than he’d ever let his charge know. The undertones shouldn’t have existed and they’d spent all this time trying to erase them. Somehow, those brooding scents kept returning… The last resort that doctors recommended was surgery, but there was a chance it would ruin Prompto and prevent him from ever mating with anyone and could potentially destroy his ability scent anyone else. If he couldn’t smell, he might as well have been dead because he’d certainly be dead to the world. 

“S-Sir, m-m-m… m-my b-b-bus,” Prompto murmured, reluctant to end their morning embrace but not wanting any trouble either.

“Just one more moment, Son,” Cor acknowledged, not realizing his grip had been marginally increasing as the embrace continued. It always happened when he thought too much and caught a whiff of his foster son’s undertones. He loved this boy like his own and now that someone was kidnapping Omegas- being so bold as to take the Prince- fear was not foreign to him. “Please try to have a good day, Sunshine. Be careful and be home on time. I can’t lose you…”

With that, Cor took one last deep inhale, planted a subtle kiss to his boy’s temple, and allowed their embrace to fade out. Prompto seemed much more at ease than before, which helped Cor’s old heart feel a little bit better. The blonde shuffled towards the bus with much hesitation until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He looked at the message that had appeared.

_ From Dad: I love you, pup. Have a good day. _

When he looked back, Dad had already departed for the palace. King Regis was likely impatiently waiting for him. Prompto sighed and boarded the bus. He took his seat, slouching and pressing his knees to the one in front of him, and looked at the text again. Dad wasn’t much of a Dad, but he was still a good one. He raised Prompto like his own- had actually babied him when he was younger, but now that he was just a couple years away from adulthood, Dad seemed to think it was time to put him through the same drills that the old man had gone through when he was younger. Thankfully, Dad still understood that he was more fragile than most. Why? He wasn’t entirely sure, but all the adults kept telling him that he needed help, that his body and mind were confused about his biology and what he was. He was an Omega, but sometimes something shifted and that’s what they all seemed to be afraid of or concerned about. 

Prompto frowned sadly to the window on his right, looking out to the street. He had to do a double-take at what he saw. There was no reason… Why would… Why would a black and gray dog- that looked exactly like the service dog gifted to the Prince by the Princess of Tenebrae- be sitting outside Prompto’s building…? He felt his heart stop as the dog seemed to make eye contact with him. His scent filled with panic and confusion and wafted through the bus. He cringed in pain as someone kicked the hell out of the back of his seat, right in his spine as if they had x-ray vision and aimed for it.

“Knock it off, creep!” Someone shouted from the back of the bus.

“No one cares about your smell, loser!” 

“Just stay home, you big baby!”

Prompto felt his face heat up and his eyes burned as he quickly pulled his camera out and tried to escape to a happier place. The camera used to be Dad’s from back when Prompto was just a baby. There were so many saved photos of Dad rocking him to sleep or reading him a story, of them playing together… Usually, it was one of Dad’s coworkers from the Kingsglaive that came along and took pictures, usually a guy around Dad’s age that he called Papa Nyx. Thinking back, Prompto remembered Dad sending them to someone, but he never got an answer when he asked who they were sent to. Dad would just change the subject or dismiss it or claim it was being sent into his digital storage. Prompto now knew that you didn’t have to send pictures to your digital storage via email. It didn’t work like that. As Prompto continued to experience his life in reverse, all the way back to when he was a newborn, There were flickers of pictures he had never noticed as he tried to force the camera to go further back. It looked like some sort of… of lockdown facility- maybe a military base?… He thought he saw a flicker of his Dad’s face with a panicked expression and something in his arms in one of them… Everything he tried in an attempt to recover the photo failed. What a bust. It always said it was corrupted or incompatible or something… It was already proving to be a long day and the day had just begun.

“ _ The mind runs fast, Your thoughts are louder than your words. And every time you turn around, It starts to hurt, hurt, it starts to hurt. But you wanna be heard, wanna be heard, wanna be…” _

The bus ride felt shorter than normal, but that was probably thanks to Prompto’s anxiety. He was starting to wonder if he was hallucinating because he felt like he kept seeing the Prince’s dog when they stopped at traffic lights or took a slow turn. There was no way that dog was able to track him and even less possibility- and probability- that it could keep up with the bus. When he got off the bus, Prompto found himself searching for the service dog with the green collar around its neck. Between all the bodies of his classmates shoving him in different directions and his urge to get to class on time, Prompto found himself continuing into the building with no sightings but no relief either. Something was going on and somehow that something had to do with Prompto. Shaking his head, he continued to his locker to grab his math textbook. It wasn’t ideal to crunch numbers first thing in the morning since he was more of the artsy type and numbers weren’t his friend, but it was nice to get it over with. He was actually doing surprisingly well in Algebra II. Mrs. Mulligan actually had him tutoring his classmates when his anxiety could handle it. For some reason, his classmates found it acceptable to say he was the best when he was tutoring them but then bully him any time they weren’t in class and needing his help. It was so frustrating because his speech therapist said that those mixed signal behaviors were encouraging his lack of self- confidence and confusion which continued to manifest as anxiety and stuttering.

Walking into the classroom, he was the first one there aside from Mrs. Mulligan. She smiled and greeted him before returning to the notes she was jotting down for the day’s lesson plan. Prompto took his usual seat next to the window. He pulled out his textbook, notebook, calculator and pencils, arranging them all in very particular locations. Textbook sat to the left, notebook to the right and slightly down, calculator up towards the middle of the top edge, and the pencils between the textbook and notebook so they wouldn’t roll away. Satisfied, he looked out the window and zoned out to the sounds of his classmates ambling into the classroom. There were a couple birds flitting about in the tree. One of them seemed to be leading the other, or maybe the other was chasing the one around from branch to branch… Prompto looked towards the base of the tree to find the dog with the green collar napping in the shade of the old tree. He jumped and blinked, rubbing his eyes and looking back to see the dog still there, still napping. The bell rang with a couple of the boys skidding into the classroom and practically falling onto the girl sitting at the corner seat next to where they came to a halt. Prompto couldn’t tear his eyes away from the dog. This was too weird… The dog kept showing up everywhere he went… What did it want…? Was it lonely with Prince Noctis missing? Why wouldn’t it go to King Regis for comfort and care? Why was this dog fixated on him?

“Alright class, today we will start our work with asymptotes,” Mrs. Mulligan spoke up as she closed the classroom door. She returned to the board and pointed to one of the handmade axis grids. “Does anybody know what an asymptote is?”

No one raised their hand. Prompto was barely paying attention, his thoughts stuck on the missing Prince’s dog.

“Prompto? Any guesses?” Mrs. Mulligan asked, turning her attention to him.

“W-what? U-u-uh, w-w-what w-w-was the q-q-question?” Prompto spoke up, attempting to swallow the embarrassment as his face warmed. He could hear his classmates quietly mocking his stutter, which earned them glares from Mrs. Mulligan.

“Anything you can tell me about asymptotes, Prompto?” Mrs. Mulligan rephrased.

“The eh- eh- x v-value a-and the y-y-y v-value a-are almost a-always i-infinite,” Prompto answered. “T-there a-are th-th-three k-kinds… U-u-um, the a-actual th-thing i-is a l-line or c-c-curve…”

“Very good, those are true statements about asymptotes,” Mrs. Mulligan praised with a warm smile. “Today we’re going to learn about the three types and how to find them as well as graphing them.”

Prompto sighed in relief that he was no longer in the spotlight. Even if he was right and regarded highly by the teachers despite his inability to answer quickly, his classmates would never pass up an opportunity to humiliate or tease him- whether it was calling him a nerd or a creeper with a camera or just making fun of his stuttering. Anytime he could keep quiet and avoid attention was a blessing. Sadly, it was a blessing that he often didn’t get to keep. He shook his head and caught up on notes. Between his humiliation and having the dog practically hunting him, it was hard to focus, but that was fine. He could run Dad through his lessons which would help him click everything into place. Sometimes walking someone else through his day helped him figure out the things that hadn’t quite stuck or made sense before. 

It felt like forever before the bell rang and he was off to retrieve his chemistry book and head to Mr. Botch’s classroom. Chemistry was certainly more fun than math, but required some skills that he hadn’t mastered. Measurements weren’t bad since he was used to cooking and baking at home. It was some of the memorizations and terminology that stumped him every now and then. Terms weren’t hard, until he was asked to give examples. He could define aeration but for whatever reason he became a spiracorn in the headlights when asked for an example of it. With a growing feeling of dread, he took a seat in the chemistry classroom. He always sat up front so Mr. Botch would pass him over as often as possible. The chemistry teacher knew Prompto understood most things and was passing with various levels of A’s (usually A or A-) so he wasn’t much of a target. Prompto noticed the dog was somehow still tracking him as he looked out the window and saw it once again. Then again, the blonde did share a lot of classes with the Prince… Maybe the dog wasn’t following him? Maybe it was just trying to keep up with the Prince’s schedule in hopes that it would find its human at some point in the day? The thought eased Prompto’s nerves a bit and he found he was able to focus fairly well during Mr. Botch’s lesson on allotropes and the periodic table. 

After chemistry came Physical Education where they would likely play soccer again and everyone would vote him to be goalie- not because he was good, but because they thought it was funny when he got hit. Sadly, he seemed to bruise like a peach. Once P.E. was over, it was onto one of his favorite classes, Art class. Mr. Veraldine was the next best thing to an Oracle in Prompto’s mind. He was so calm and easy going that it helped him relax even when he could still feel his headache throbbing or the soreness from the hits he took. There was Advanced Placement World History once art class ended, which was broken up by lunch. Then it was off to english class, which was definitely one of his preferred subjects. His classmates seemed almost thankful that he would always be the first to raise his hand or to rescue someone when Mrs. Janicki threw a particularly stumping question to the class. No one dared to make fun of him in her class. A few of them had learned that Mrs. Janicki was quick to assign detentions or send students off to the principal for “any such debauchery and slander.” Then it was Ancient Languages, which attempted to delve into the language spoken back when Solheim was created and the references to the very little the Oracles through the ages were able to share and explain about the Astrals’ tongue. Finally, it was off to his photography class. This was the best wrap up to the day that Prompto could have asked for. They sometimes invaded classrooms to take pictures for the school newspaper (his photos were almost always picked) or they would get to explore some section of the school grounds outside of the main building. The courtyard was such a beautiful place and the fountain out front was very photogenic.

Having wrapped up the school day his favorite way and less concerned about the Prince’s dog and its agenda, Prompto was almost at peace as he boarded the bus and waited for the drive home to begin. Right on time, his phone vibrated with a text from Dad.

_ From Dad: Remember, two hours for photography assignments and any nearby errands. Don’t go too far and be home in two hours from when your feet step off that bus. I love you, Prompto. See you for dinner. _

_ To Dad: Yes, Sir. I promise. Love you too, Dad. See you then. _

Prompto let himself smile a bit as he relaxed into his usual position and enjoyed the warmth of the sun through the dingy window on the bus. The dog probably would return to King Regis and he wouldn’t see it until school tomorrow. It had to have figured out that Prince Noctis wasn’t hanging around the sophomore year’s biggest reject. No, it was probably just a fluke and he probably wouldn’t see the dog outside of school again. The poor thing would probably continue to dutifully follow its master’s schedule. It was in that particular breed’s nature to follow routine and stick close to its master any time it could. At least Prince Noctis had his dog… Or normally did anyway… He prayed quietly that Noctis would be found and okay. Prompto watched out the window for a bit as he decided how to spend his two hours after school. He needed to tend to the carbuncle that he was rehabilitating first and foremost. Maybe he would go for a jog with his camera… There was a nostalgic little bakery within the approved radius from the apartment complex that he could photograph… Maybe he could do a little art and surprise Dad with dinner? Yeah, that sounded like a nice way to spend his free time. He’d take care of Clera, go for a jog, take some pictures, and work on a new sketch while he got dinner going.

“ _ Louder than the storms around. You hear them through the windows and the doors. Everybody's time has come. It's everybody's moment, except yours…” _

Prompto was excited to be home. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he started the two hour timer on his phone like Dad always asked. The blonde knew he tended to hyper focus and Dad did too so they agreed on a timer to keep him honest and on time. With that done, the blonde hurried over to their first floor apartment and clumsily dug out the keys. Unlocking the door and removing the key, he entered the apartment and felt the remainder of the tension dissipate from his body. This was his safe place. Dad never let anyone but the other Kingsglaives into their home and he actually threatened to shoot one of them for hurting Prompto’s feelings. He only planned to shoot him in the foot- or rather hold a gun to him and make him do it himself. Thankfully, Dad didn’t make the guy do it but the gesture was appreciated. With a deep, relaxed breath, Prompto locked the door behind him and made his way to his room where his bag was discarded. Looking around, he didn’t see Clera in any of her usual spots- not on his pillow, not on the window sill, or the bed he made from his baby blanket. 

“C-Clera?!” Prompto called, looking around the room. No sounds of movement or her soft yips. “W-where are y-you, girl?!”

A little concerned, he made his way to the office. Dad had gotten annoyed a couple times because she seemed to have an affinity for pulling out papers from his desk whenever she got in there. Prompto hesitated in the doorway, Dad said the office was for his at-home assignments and that’s why Prompto had his own laptop and desktop in his room. He wasn’t supposed to enter Dad’s office without his permission, but seeing that Clera was probably in there was a special circumstance- right? Right. With the smallest bit of anxiety bubbling up in the pit of his stomach, the blonde crept into his Dad’s office and found folders on the floor once again. Did carbuncles make nests from paper or something? That was the only thing Prompto could dream up that would justify her repeated desire to uproot the papers. 

“C-Clera!” Prompto panicked, finding her laying on a file with his name on it. “D-Dad is g-gonna m-make me g-get r-rid of y-you if y-you k-keep doing th-this!”

Clera yipped in indignation as he put away the files as best he could. He lifted her into one arm, careful of her bandaged and set ribs and her rear leg in its cast, and put away the one with his name on it. It was probably just his birth certificate. Dad kept all their vital records in the office, after all. With a sigh, Prompto brought Clera to his room, making sure to close the door. Clera was laid on the bed while he retrieved the medical kit Dad got him for his birthday last year. The blonde spent so much time fixing animals up that his Dad got him veterinary texts and an advanced kit to help him out. He remembered his Dad asking him why he kept rehabilitating animals…

_ “Prom, Buddy, what’s with all the animal doctoring lately?” Dad asked, sitting on the edge of the toddler’s bed. _

_ “I-if I-I c-can’t f-fix me, m-maybe I-I c-can f-fix th-them…” Prompto answered, the rather tiny five year old cuddling a kitten with a bandaged leg. _

Prompto felt bad recalling the memory since it was the first time he could recall his Dad crying. He knew Dad felt terrible that he was such a damaged child, but it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Prompto was just born broken. The blonde teen shook his head and looked to the calendar on his wall. The brightly plumaged chocobo seemed to smile at him as he looked for the date. As he had thought, it was time for Clera’s cast to come off of her back leg. Three more weeks and her ribs could be left unbandaged as well. As he brought the bag over to Clera, he noticed she seemed to understand that today was the day. He smiled as he pulled out the tools he needed to properly remove the cast. After that, he grabbed the bowl with the cloth inside and the jug of purified water from under his bed. He wanted to make sure the leg was clean in case she decided to try and groom her leg. 

“I-I b-bet y-you’re exc-cited to g-get this o-o-off,” Prompto commented as he got to work carefully cutting the cast. Clera yipped in response, but stayed perfectly still. She trusted that he knew what he was doing. “I’m g-gonna h-have to w-wash y-your leg a-after th-this. S-still g-gotta t-t-take it e-easy, th-though.”

Clera just laid her head on his knee and waited patiently. Once the cast was off and the scissors were away from her leg, she tentatively stretched it out a bit. Satisfied, she let herself doze a bit while he pulled out a small bar of antibacterial soap from the kit and began to wet and lather the cloth. Prompto took his time and tenderly wiped down every part of her leg that had been encased. Then he washed her from the hips back since her ribs didn’t allow the mobility to do it herself. He chuckled when he heard her sigh as if she knew it was a necessary evil. With that done, he moved the bowl to the floor to be dumped later and used the towel on the shelf of his nightstand to dry her off. 

“I-I’m g-g-going f-for a j-jog,” He informed her as he gently dried and fluffed her damp fur. “D-do y-y-you w-wanna c-come w-with?”

Clera perked up and yipped in response. She loved going for a jog with Prompto. She could enjoy the spring sunshine and breathe the fresh air while maintaining a high perch to safely watch the world go by. 

“I-I j-just g-g-gotta ch-change f-first, o-okay?” Prompto smiled, slowly sliding off the bed. Clera simply laid her head on her paws in response.

Prompto quickly changed out of his uniform and pulled on a pair of shorts and tee shirt, swapping his dress shoes for running shoes while he was at it. With that settled, he grabbed the little pouch he had bought for Clera to join him on runs and strapped it to his chest. Prompto tucked Clera into the carrier and grabbed his camera and keys from his backpack. Looking around the room and then out the window, he decided they were ready to go. As he passed his bed, he caught sight of his phone and sighed. So much for progress. He almost left without the one thing that could keep him out of trouble. Prompto grabbed the armband from his night stand with his earbuds still inside. Pulling out the earbuds and tucking one into his right ear, he plugged the earbuds into his phone and tucked it into the pouch. He hit play on his music widget and made his way to the front door. The blonde locked the door behind him and tucked the keys into a pocket on Clera’s pouch. After a couple quick stretches, Prompto took off towards the entrance to the apartment complex.

“ _ Before the light goes out, Why don't you close your eyes? And all the monsters in your mind just wanna be nice. They wanna be kind, they wanna play nice, they wanna be…” _

The route to the bakery was a beautiful one. There a small pristine pond where he stopped to take pictures of the birds flitting about the water and the families lounging a ways from its edge. It was very picturesque and he was usually on target with the rule of thirds. Once that was done, he continued on towards town. Prompto was able to capture pictures of a couple classic cars, a few retro buildings, and the town square before he crossed the street to the bakery. The bakery in question was quite dated in appearance compared to a number of the renovated storefronts and restaurants in the area, but it made seem more rustic and homely. The owners were long time friends of his Dad and they adored Prompto. 

It was still a bit weird for him to receive affection from anyone other than Dad, but the daughter of the shopkeeper, Calluna was very fond of him. Calluna was a retro beauty as if she were pulled straight out of the old fashion magazines preserved in the library. She had dark chocolate hair, greenish bluish eyes, and a petite, pear-shaped form. What made it just a touch awkward was the age difference- Prompto was barely sixteen and she was twenty-six. There was a ten year age gap and he wasn’t certain whether she was being friendly or flirting- one was perfectly fine and the other was more than he was comfortable with. Though, she was born an Alpha and she certainly acted like one, but not in a bad way, which explained some of her interactions. Calluna was very bold and up-front with people. Omegas and Betas loved her because she’d boot every single Alpha from the bakery if they even hinted at harassing them (honestly, she was a bit of an attention whore when it came to Omegas and Betas). Prompto appreciated her desire to protect him since a lot of his boorish classmates liked to meet up there and never missed an opportunity to pick on him.

“Hi, Prom!” Calluna greeted, finishing serving the table in front of the bakery. She set her tray down and vaulted over the short wrought iron gate to embrace him. As customary, they scented each other and she giggled at the anxious note as he kept shifting, afraid she’d squish Clera. “Aww, you brought Clera! Hi, beautiful!”

“Y-yeah, sh-she w-was t-tired of b-being st-stuck i-inside,” Prompto supplied, unzipping the pouch and gently pulling Clera out. The carbuncle immediately snubbed the female Alpha, worrying him as he watched Calluna’s reaction.

“Not very friendly, is she?” Calluna joked, resisting the urge to pet the tiny healer. “I remember in my AP Biology class they said that she’s a rare creature sent by the Astrals to help the Oracle. Supposedly, there are only four in existence at a time. They’re rumored to having amazing healing powers when at full strength.”

“W-we j-just l-learned th-that… l-last y-year,” Prompto noted, nodding in agreement. “S-she w-was h-hurt… I-I f-found h-her… l-last m-m-month.”

“If only there were more people like you, Prompto,” Calluna fondly sighed. “There’s plenty of Alphas, Omegas, and Betas that care about their kind or the ones they mate with, but not enough who care about the big picture- the world and creatures other than us that live in it. The Astrals must’ve sent you for a reason, Prom.”

“I-I w-wouldn’t s-say th-that,” Prompto dismissed, keeping his eyes on Clera and gently stroking her soft fur. “I-I j-just l-like th-them… W-we g-get… a-a-along b-better…”

“People just don’t understand you yet, Prom,” Calluna assured him, rubbing his shoulder with a soft smile.

“Calluna? Are you finished?” The shopkeep called, poking his head out of the bakery doors. “Prompto, welcome!”

“H-hi, M-mr. H-H-Harling,” Prompto called back. “Y-you sh-should pr-probably g-g-go…”

“I will. It was good seeing you, Prom,” Calluna submitted, hopping back over the gate. She turned towards the few patrons sitting outside and hollered, “If you have a problem with you picture being taken, relocate. This bakery supports the arts and we have an arts student taking pictures today. Cause any trouble and I will happily escort you off my property.”

Most of the people outside were regulars and used to Prompto’s occasional photo sessions. Sometimes they were for class and sometimes he just found a new angle or type of weather to shoot in for his own collection. He liked having pictures of the bakery through the years, showing the contrast as things around it changed. He smiled softly and tucked Clera back into her pouch but left the top open. The blonde lifted the camera from around his neck and powered it up. After a moment, it was ready to start taking pictures. He snapped some while kneeling- what his teacher called a child’s perspective- then moved to the corner and took a picture of the bakery and the stores beside it. There were pictures from the opposite side of the bakery to balance the perspectives and then he went inside and snapped a few more. Mr. Harling sent him off with a small bag of pastries- the Harlings always had a small bag of his and Dad’s favorites set aside. 

“ _ Softer than the storms around. You feel them through the windows and the doors. Everybody's time has come. It's everybody's moment, except yours…” _

Prompto stopped in his tracks. The people who had been at the tables outside were gone. They were replaced by two odd looking men in unfamiliar uniforms. There was no smell of nearby patrons… These two men had no scent… All humans regardless of tier had a scent so why in Ifrit’s Pit didn’t these men have their own? Prompto’s hand shook as he zipped up Clera’s pouch and tried to steady his breath. His scent was already slowly changing as fear bubbled up in his stomach. He prepared himself to bolt, looking back into the shop to see if the Harlings noticed their peculiar visitors. He barely caught Calluna’s eyes for a moment. She smiled and waved, her smile dimming as she realized there was something off about the blonde teen. He shook his head, attempting to warn her not to come out. She motioned him to come back in but he shook his head again. The timer still had plenty of time on it as he glanced his phone on his arm, but time was of the essence for a different reason. For all he knew, these men were the Omega snatchers the news kept reporting on. Just as he made to start running, he found one of them had already moved in front and was barely two feet away. The other was making to hop the gate. This whole escape plan just got so much harder… The panic began to well up inside him. Maybe he could still make it past the one behind the gate if he acted fast… He did do track last year and the hurdles were his best event… 

“Come.” The one in front of him spoke up, but it sounded off, almost mechanical…

Prompto shook his head and ran through the open section of the gate. The other man-machine thing had already jumped over and seemed to pause to consider the best action to take. Clera yipped in panic as he moved. The blonde scrambled up the nearest table, breaking dishes as he went, and jumped, camera around his neck and pastries in his hand, from table to table, trying to assess how he was going to land on the other side of the gate. The man-machine that jumped the gate was walking at an oddly normal pace to try and cut Prompto off. If he could just make this last jump… 

By the time he made a rough landing on the pavement, he found himself smacking shoulder first into the man-machine with enough force to knock them both to the ground. There was a pained yip from Clera as they hit the pavement with the blonde on his side, his camera was cracked in places and the pastries were squished. Prompto scrambled to get up and froze in fear when he looked back. The one that cornered him had a gun. The one on the ground’s gun away on the pavement a foot away. Dad told him to never use a gun unless he was licensed or being supervised by an approved adult… But this was an emergency, wasn’t it? Would Dad be angry if he grabbed the gun- even if he didn’t use it? Would he be praised for protecting himself? Oh Astrals, could he live with himself if he killed one or both of them??? The choice was taken from him as the Prince’s service dog came bolting from behind him and launched itself at the one standing with the gun. The other was still on the ground, he still looked conscious but there was a glaze to his eyes like he wasn’t all there at the moment. Prompto was pulled from his ponderings by gunshots and the sound of the Prince’s dog whining and whimpering. The man-machine shot the Prince’s dog in the belly and then shot it in the leg.

“N-n-no!” Prompto screamed, tears streaming down his face as the man-machine made to shoot the dog again. 

Just as the other man-machine made to move, Prompto ducked and grabbed the gun. His anger and despair cutting through everything and giving him an awful, incomparable and primal clarity. As soon as the gun was in his hand, he locked onto the man-machine getting up from the ground with predatory eyes and shot three times through its head- the man-machine’s blood splattered onto Prompto. He shifted and shot the other one three times in the head just before it could take the shot that would kill the Prince’s dog. Prompto’s breathing picked back up and he dropped the gun with shaking hands as Clera’s panicked yips brought him back to the here and now. He scrambled away from the body next to him, landing on his ass and propped up on his elbows. He was already covered in blood. The whines and whimpers brought the teen’s thoughts back to the hurting animal a few feet away. It wasn’t long before Calluna and her parents made their way outside. Prompto got to his feet and darted towards the Prince’s dog. He carefully cradled the creature in his lap and put a gentle pressure on the bullet holes to help stop the bleeding.

“Prompto!” Calluna panicked, kneeling beside him. “Are you okay? What the hell happened?”

Prompto just shook his head, the tears coming back full force as his breathing hitched. He had no fucking clue what just transpired.

“Oh, Astrals…” Calluna breathed, noticing the state of the dog in his arms. She turned towards her parents, Mr. Harling was on the phone with the authorities and Mrs. Harling was standing next to him looking shell-shocked. “Mama, get the med kit! The dog’s been shot!”

Her mother’s eyes widened and she ran off to grab the first aid supplies. After a few minutes, Mr. Harling was off the phone with the authorities and dialing Prompto’s dad. Mrs. Harling came rushing over with two first aid kits in her arms.

“What do we need to do?” Mrs. Harling questioned, looking between her daughter and the teen next to her.

“I dunno! I’ve never dealt with any of this before,” Calluna admitted, watching Prompto as he tried to desperately to remember what he was supposed to do for the dog in his arms. 

“C-clean a-a-and w-w-wrap,” Prompto choked out, looking to Calluna with pleading blue eyes.

“Okay, um, Mom, grab the alcohol pads and the wrap bandages!” Calluna dictated, busting open one of the kits and yanking the contents onto the sidewalk. The mother and daughter pulled the wipes and bandages from the piles of supplies and held them out to Prompto.

Prompto began working on cleaning the wounds. He found both had exit wounds, which was both good and bad for the Prince’s dog. They would have to go see a veterinarian soon. Sometime after the dog had been roughly bandaged and the bleeding finally began to clot to some degree, a large black SUV pulled over with Cor leaping out before it came to a full stop.

“Prompto!” Cor panicked, darting over to the crying teen. His scent was all over the place with fear, confusion, panic, and grief mixed with a minimal amount of relief as his Dad embraced him. “It’s gonna be okay, Sunshine. I’m here. You’re gonna be okay.”

“N-n-not h-h-hurt, D-Daddy!” Prompto sobbed the reassurance. “P-p-prince’s p-p-puppy!”

“We’ll get him to the best vet in town, I promise,” Cor reassured his boy. He looked up as the three other members from the Kingsglaive popped out of the car. Gladiolus and Ignis were under Cor’s watch until Nyx, who was among the current group, would take over in the evening. The two were to be watched and simultaneously retrained after their major fuck up of losing the Prince. “Grab the body bags. Put those two in them and toss them in the way back. Gladiolus, you’re in the way back with them. Ignis, make sure we have the weapons. You’ll be sitting up front. Nyx, run the perimeter and make sure there’s no others and grab any other pieces of evidence you can. You’ll be driving us to the vet’s office as soon as you get back. I’m going to get Prompto and the dog settled in the backseat with me. Move with a purpose or I will send you off to Angelgard as playthings for the Fulgarian! NOW!”

The three broke away to accomplish their tasks, Ignis collecting the weapons in a handkerchief and Gladio grabbing body bags from the car while Nyx ran the perimeter.

“Thank you for calling me and keeping an eye on him,” Cor murmured as he side-hugged Calluna. “Can you help me get them into the car?”

“Of course, Mr. Leonis,” Calluna agreed, getting to her feet while her mother cleaned up the first aid supplies. “It was no trouble at all. We love you guys like family.”

“Is he alright, Cor?” Mr. Harling questioned, standing behind his shaken wife. 

“He will be,” Cor answered, rising to his feet.

“N-n-no!” Prompto shouted as he lost physical contact with his Dad. His scent was so strong with panic that both Cor and Calluna thought they might be sick. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, Sunshine,” Cor reassured, placing his hand on Prompto’s head and gently stroking his hair. “We’re gonna stand with the puppy and get in the car to go see the vet like I promised, okay?”

“H-h-how?” Prompto questioned, keeping his eyes locked on the whimpering dog.

“You’re gonna leave puppy on the ground for, like ten seconds, and then you and Calluna will move him into the car,” Cor explained, still rhythmically running his hand through the sweaty, blood dampened blonde locks. “Then you and I are going to get in the car with Ignis, Gladiolus, and Papa Nyx, okay?”

Prompto shakily nodded, starting to rock ever so slightly. That wasn’t a good sign. His anxiety was starting to ramp up and if they didn’t calm him down enough, they would be back to full blown panic attack. 

“Come on, Sunshine,” Cor encouraged, glaring at Gladiolus who was throwing odd stares at his son. The brunette quickly averted his gaze and refocused on bagging up the bodies. “Up we go, sweet pea.”

With much effort and hesitation on Prompto’s part, they got the teen to stand. Calluna kneeled and slipped her hands under the dog’s head and upper rib cage, awaiting Prompto’s help. The blonde teen followed suit, slipping his hands under the dog’s torso and rear. He sobbed stuttered apologies the whole way to the car as the dog’s whimpers picked up. Once Prompto was settled in the car with the dog halfway in his lap and halfway on the seat, Cor checked the status of his companions’ tasks. Ignis was helping Gladiolus with the last body bag and Nyx was just coming back into view. Cor climbed in as Prompto’s sobs picked up and wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulders, planting a kiss to his temple. Within a few minutes, everyone was in the car and they were off to the vet. This was the very thing Cor had feared- they were after his son and they’d go to extreme measures to get him. He had to work to calm his scent back down before it could undo his progress with his son’s mental state. Just as he had gotten himself to a better place, he saw a figure like the bodies they’d collected on the corner as they crossed the intersection with sirens blaring.

“Did you see that, Boss?” Gladiolus prompted in as hushed of a tone as he could.

“Yes, Gladiolus, I did,” Cor gritted out. “Those bastards won’t be getting my son or anyone else’s. Six help them if they try anyone’s daughter either.”

“Maybe you should get the punk into the Kingsglaive,” Gladiolus suggested, nodding towards the blonde teen in front of him. 

“Why in Ifrit’s Pit would I do that?!” Cor quietly snapped at the twenty-something year old.

“Didn’t you see the bodies?” Gladiolus questioned.

“No, I didn’t. I had bigger concerns at the time,” Cor responded, trying to reign in his agitation with the missing Prince’s shield.

“Blondie shot both of them in the head- three times each,” Gladiolus detailed for him. “Almost in the exact same spot each time. The kid’s a sharp shooter, Sir.”

No… It wasn’t possible… His shaky little Sunbeam was a sharpshooter? Cor met Nyx’s eyes in the rearview mirror for a moment. In that moment, Nyx understood that the two of them needed to have a chat- preferably with the King as well. With as much of a mess as his son was at present, it was hard to believe that the same boy could shoot two men (or whatever the hell they were) with such precision and clearly primal bloodlust. Was shooting the dog what triggered this primal episode? Cor looked to his crying son. The boy’s eyes were red and puffy with tears and snot staining his face. He was looking particularly tired now that things had calmed down. The poor kid had been through a lot today. Cor only hoped that they could figure out who the potentially mechanized assholes in the body bags were so he could put an end to all this to protect his son and hopefully bring back the Prince…

“ _ It's so much easier than you think, you try so hard. And every time you get it wrong, you get it right, You get it wrong but you get it right. You get it right… The mind runs fast, Your thoughts are louder than your words. And every time you turn around, It starts to hurt, hurt, it starts to hurt. But you wanna be heard, wanna be heard, wanna be… Louder than the storms around You hear them through the windows and the doors. Everybody's time has come. It's everybody's moment, except yours… Before the light goes out, Why don't you close your eyes? And all the monsters in your mind just wanna be nice. They wanna be kind, they wanna play nice, they wanna be… Softer than the storms around. You feel them through the windows and the doors. Everybody's time has come. It's everybody's moment, except yours…” _ \- Regina Spektor, “Tornadoland”


	2. The Story of the Prince and His Dog Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I did not do any research on like anything XD So the treatments and likelihood of survival for Clera and, especially, Umbra may not be accurate but I don't give a damn.

_“The piano is not firewood yet. They try to remember but still they forget, That the heart beats in threes, Just like a waltz. And nothing can stop you from dancing…”_

Prompto was in a daze as his tired mind finally registered the calming scent of copper, redwoods, and aloe. He could faintly smell Papa Nyx’s neutral blend of orchid cactus, freshly smithed steel, and damp earth. There were new smells that his overstimulated senses and brain couldn’t quite pick apart, which he assumed to be the two men that he hadn’t met yet. Dad had both hands on him, one running fingers through his grimy hair and the other resting on his right arm. He took a deep inhale as he turned his face towards his guardian and was rewarded with a soft smile and a kiss to the forehead. The teen knew he was getting close to adulthood, that he wouldn’t be anyone’s pup in just a couple short years, but Omegas were born with an innate desire to be cared for. Some of those desires were a bit childish, like being carried or fed, but they were honest necessities to keep an Omega sane and happy, regardless of age. The worst thing that could be done to a healthy Omega was touch deprivation and Prompto wasn’t a healthy Omega so touch and scent were even more crucial to even keep him at a balanced, neutral state. 

At the same time, Alphas, like his Dad, Cor, had the inborn desire to protect and care for others, especially Omegas but occasionally Betas as well. They needed a pack, regardless of size, to lead and care for. Alphas rarely got along with one another unless they were raised with each other. Going to school with other Alphas usually helped to quell the primal urge to fight for dominance, but it was still an issue from time to time. Mostly with Alphas in separate professions or interning or climbing the ranks. There was something in the Alpha makeup that made it hard to take direction from other Alphas, but if an Omega made a suggestion or encouraged a line of thought or action, they were infinitely more receptive since Omegas were known for being supportive and having their own primal urge to please Alphas. The man behind Prompto was definitely an Alpha, which Prompto knew from the tension between Dad and him. 

“Almost there, Sunbeam,” Dad reassured him as he whimpered upon hitting a rough patch of road. He removed the camera from his son’s neck by unhooking one end of the strap and tucked it in the pocket of the passenger seat in front of him. He’d have to get it repaired later… “Just a little longer and we can get Umbra all fixed up.”

“U-u-umbra?” Prompto questioned, his tired eyes narrowing in confusion as his brow scrunched together to further portray the sentiment.

“That’s the name of the Prince’s dog, Sunbeam,” Dad answered, nuzzling his temple and taking in the scent of sweet pea, fresh grass, and spring rain- but there was no undertone! Cor’s scent flooded with relief and joy, giving his Sunbeam a scent-fueled endorphins boost while nearly nauseating the other occupants of the car.

“For fuck’s sake, someone roll down a window!” Gladiolus called up to Nyx and Ignis, who cracked their windows a bit. “I think I’m gonna be sick…”

“Shut it, Pup,” Nyx commanded, giving Gladiolus a warning look through the rear view mirror. “You don’t have a single leg to stand on after what happened to the Prince. Besides, you’re probably smelling the bodies back there. There’s no way the Old Man is putting off that strong of a scent.”

Oh, so the one behind him was the one that failed to protect the Prince from abduction… Prompto whined in frustration as his brain screamed that there was something he needed to tell them about the attack.

“What? What’s the matter, Pup?” Dad worried, using the hand that had been resting on the boy’s arm to gently caress his cheek. “Are you hurt? Do you need to take your meds?”

“M-m-man- m-m-machines,” Prompto responded, his eyes wide with fear. “N-n-no sm-smell… Th-they s-s-sounded l-like m-m-machines w-w-when th-they sp-spoke.”

“What did they say to you, Pup?” Dad pressed, his protective instincts rearing up. If they said anything terrible to his pup… 

“C-c-come,” Prompto supplied, gently flexing his fingers on Umbra’s neck as the dog whimpered. 

“That’s all they said?” Dad clarified, a bit thrown by the simple response. 

Prompto nodded.

“What happened at the bakery, Pup?” Dad quietly questioned.

Prompto closed his eyes and hummed as he tried to think of what happened… His head was throbbing now that he had the capacity to focus on himself. He must’ve hit his head when he fell to the ground with the man-machine- or his headache from taking three soccer balls to the head was rearing back up. Before he could think beyond what was causing the pain he was experiencing, the car came to a stop and there was no longer the hum of the engine or the scream of the siren. Prompto looked out the window to see a very friendly looking veterinary hospital. He heard shifting as the two younger men opened their doors and exited the car.

“I’m gonna go see if they have a better way to bring Umbra in,” Nyx notified the pair in the backseat. “I don’t think moving him ourselves is a good idea.”

“Okay, thanks, Nyx,” Cor responded, nuzzling his son. “We’ll wait here.”

“I’ll be quick.” Nyx assured as he climbed out of the car. 

“How’s Clera, Pup?” Cor inquired, continuing to administer comforting touches.

“D-d-don’t kn-know,” Prompto frowned, looking towards her carrier. She’d been awfully quiet and looked to be asleep. “I-I’m w-w-worried a-a-about h-her r-ribs…”

“We’ll have them check her over once Umbra is checked in,” Cor reassured, defenses rising as the driver side passenger door opened to reveal an unfamiliar man. His scent altered to be a warning to the intruder as he pulled his pistol out and aimed it at the man. “State your name and intent or meet the Astrals.”

“Whoa! It’s okay, Sir!” The man panicked, his hands raised to show he meant no harm. “My name is Reed and I’m just out here to help my team retrieve Umbra for treatment per Mr. Ulric’s instructions.”

Cor searched his face for any hint of a lie and put away his pistol as he realized the man was telling the truth. He nuzzled the teen next to him, who was frozen with anxiety bordering on panic. “Do what you need. Take care of that dog or it may be the last animal you treat. If you’re lucky, King Regis will simply blacklist you if Umbra dies or becomes crippled in your care.”

“Yes, Sir. Understood.” Reed responded, backing up with a tense sigh and gesturing to his coworkers to retrieve Umbra. 

“N-n-no!” Prompto panicked as Umbra howled in pain upon being shifted onto the rolling table. He found himself rooted in place by his Dad’s arms.

“It’s okay, Sunbeam,” Cor promised, rocking them ever so slightly. “It’s okay. Umbra is hurt but they didn’t hurt him. They’re going to take him to get fixed up and we’re gonna get Clera checked in while we wait. Can you help me get Clera checked in?”

Prompto nodded, tears burning his eyes as he watched them take off with Umbra. At least Dad had given them the sharp end of the stick… Hopefully that would be enough to keep them from crippling Umbra. Prompto looked to his Dad with shining blue eyes that made him look as if he were the wounded puppy.

“Come on, Sunbeam,” Cor encouraged, keeping a hand on the teen as he gently pushed him towards the open door. “Let’s get Clera checked in. Then we can cuddle while we wait.” 

Prompto did as he was told and waited, right hand clutching his Dad’s left, while Cor closed the door to vehicle, being sure to lock up before they entered the building. The blonde pressed himself as close to Cor as possible. The place smelled heavily of PheroGone, a cleaning chemical used to remove pheromones, and generic floral perfume. It was unsettling to the teen, the memory of the scentless abductors still very fresh in his mind. He had heard horror stories of abused and assaulted Omegas being doused in or force-fed PheroGone until their scent was permanently erased for the sick pleasure of particularly feral and twisted Alphas that viewed them as playthings instead of human beings. Prompto hoped that whoever took the Prince wasn’t subjecting him to that… They’d been going to school together since they were old enough to attend school, but Prompto couldn’t seem to gather enough courage to try and befriend the royal, let alone talk to him… What would a Prince want with a defective Omega that couldn’t even speak his own mind? Why would he waste his time on the school reject? 

“Sunbeam… Sunbeam?” Dad prompted, peeking at his son’s face. The teen seemed very far away and upset at whatever thoughts were running through his head. “Pup, we gotta give them Clera and tell them a little bit about her.”

“Hi, Honey, I’m Hannah,” The lady in scrubs before him greeted. She had a soft look on her face as if she saw a toddler instead of a teen standing in front of her. Having a disability sucked. “Your Daddy tells me you have a furry friend that you would like us to check on.”

Prompto gave her a tired, sad look as he reached into Clera’s pouch and pet her soft fur. The carbuncle yawned with a little squeak of a vocal reflex at the end. She sleepy gazed up at the teen, who smiled down at her, and yipped softly, licking his hand as he pet her paws. 

“Can you tell me about your friend?” Hannah asked, patiently waiting as she watched the two interact.

“Cl-Clera,” Prompto responded, gently squeezing Clera’s tiny front paw between his index finger and thumb. Clera nuzzled his hand in response, continuing to lick his hand. “H-her n-n-name i-is Cl-Clera. Sh-she’s a… A C-c-carbuncle. Sh-she h-h-had a… br-broken l-leg a-a-and fr-fractured r-r-ribs. I-I-I w-wanna m-m-make s-sure th-they aren’t br-broken. Sh-she j-just g-g-got h-her c-c-cast o-o-off t-today.”

Hannah was stunned as she wrote down her notes. The facility had only seen two carbuncles, including Clera, to date since it opened over forty years ago. Prompto gently lifted Clera out as he watched the vet tech finish her notes. He didn’t like the aura her scent was putting off- it was muted by the PheroGone, but the excitement and eagerness was still permeating. He didn’t want them to treat Clera like a specimen to be poked and prodded. She was a living being that deserved respect, love, and praise. She was sent by the Six after all…

“I-I-I g-go w-w-with h-her, w-wherever sh-she g-g-goes,” Prompto insisted as the carbuncle stuck her nose up at the vet tech.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any rooms available at the moment,” Hannah gently shot down, with a sympathetic frown. “We are a small facility so we only have three exam rooms. All are currently occupied. There is one that will be empty shortly, but it will still need to be thoroughly cleaned before we bring anyone in there, whether it’s the owners or their furry companions.”

“Then where in Ifrit’s Pit are you taking Clera?” Cor interrogated, feeling his son bristle at the woman’s response. 

“We’ll take her straight back to get x-rays and MRIs done,” Hannah explained.

“How long will that take?” Cor pressed, rubbing the blonde’s back.

“A few hours,” Hannah answered. “X-rays usually take about a half hour to complete and read and then it can take about two to three hours to do the scans and have the results read. But it varies depending on the critter. The more still and patient the pet is, the faster the scans are done so we can read the results, give a diagnosis, and draw up a treatment plan.”

“I-I-I c-c-can’t w-watch o-o-over h-her?” Prompto clarified, his anxiety spiking as he looked between Clera and the technician. 

“No, Hun, I’m sorry,” Hannah apologized. “I promise I will make sure she’s always as comfortable as possible and we will attend to anything she needs that we can handle.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Cor warned, a dangerous note to his scent as he stared her down. “King Regis won’t take kindly to his advisor having to take time off because the local vet clinic killed his son’s companion. But that’s assuming I allow you to suffer his wrath instead of mine.”

“Understood,” Hannah submitted, her ranking becoming more obvious as the fear seeped into her scent. 

Each rank had a slightly different ratio of the emotive emissions versus their identifying base scent. Betas, like Hannah, had lower levels of emotive emissions compared their base scent. The higher the rank, the more powerful the emotive emissions and the stronger the base scent was. Cor’s copper, aloe, and redwoods was potent by itself and could be detected from across the throne room since he was an Alpha. It wouldn’t be the strongest at the furthest distance but detectable enough, so standing close to him in that instance with the threat altering his scent was the equivalent of him holding a gun to her head with the safety on.

“I’m sorry, Pup, but we have to let her take Clera for a few hours,” Cor sighed, noting the distinctly distant and watery look in the boy’s eyes. “Give her some love and let Hannah take her for a bit.”

Prompto gently but firmly held Clera up to his face and rubbed their noses together. She licked his nose and whined as a tear slipped down his cheek. Clera licked it away and rubbed the side of her face against his, a way for her to spread her scent on her human. The blonde teen sniffled as he handed her over, making sure Hannah held her correctly. He watched as the two disappeared behind the secured door leading to the all of the other sections of the clinic. Something inside him felt a bit empty in her absence. He hated that feeling. It was like the times that he would wake as a toddler trapped in his crib to find that King Regis had called on his Dad in the middle of the night for some urgent something or another. Sometimes Papa Nyx was there to provide comfort and other times he would just sit and cry until Dad came home after getting an alert from the monitor that he was awake.

“Come cuddle with me on the sofa, Sunbeam,” Cor suggested, taking the teen by the hand as a few more tears fell. “Where did you go, sweet pea?”

“M-m-mission n-nights,” Prompto murmured as he absentmindedly followed his Dad to the sofa and found himself sandwiched between Papa Nyx and Dad. “E-e-empty, D-Daddy… I-I-I f-feel e-empty…”

“It’s gonna be okay, Sunbeam,” Cor reassured his son, gently butting foreheads with the teen as he turned his head. “I’m right here and so is Papa Nyx. We’ll stay with you while Clera gets her check up and Umbra gets fixed up. Then we’ll go home, eat some junk food, and snuggle on the pull out bed. I bet we can sucker Papa Nyx into staying too. What do you say, Pup? Sound good?”

“Cor, you’re forgetting about the tweetles- ya know, the two chickatrices that can’t be left alone?” Nyx pointed out, nodding to the Alpha and Omega (Gladiolus and Ignis) watching the fish tank on the opposite wall and stealing affectionate touches from one another. “Enraged, heartbroken King’s orders… Am I ringing any bells, Old Man?”

“We’ll lock them in the spare bedroom,” Cor joked, smirking to his confidant. Neither he nor Prompto looked amused or happy about that thought. “Alright, alright. Just me and Pup with Umbra and Clera tonight.”

“P-p-please?” Prompto quietly pleaded as he gave his Dad the full force of misty blue eyes. The boy never asked for anything so there was no chance on any plane of existence that Cor could tell this perfect little pup no.

“Of course, Pup,” Cor agreed, nuzzling his son on the neck and inhaling his scent. Still free of the concerning undertones, which was starting to become a concern on its own. While he was relieved they were gone, it was a mystery as to why and what came next…

“W-what d-do w-we d-do wh-while w-we w-w-wait?” Prompto asked, snuggling close to his Dad.

“What would you like to do, Pup?” Cor hummed, putting his right arm around the boy and using that hand to run through his hair. “We could tell stories, watch something on my phone, sing one of your favorite songs…”

Prompto nuzzled his way into the crook of Dad’s neck, letting Papa Nyx support and rub his back as he shifted to face his guardian. He was exhausted after everything that transpired and he wasn’t frowning at the thought of a nap. It was only a few minutes before seven- which meant his alarm would go off soon- and still somewhat sunny outside but he often liked to doze with Clera in her sunlight patches… The teen whimpered as he remembered that Clera wasn’t enjoying a sun spot and that he couldn’t snuggle her whether she was in one or not since there apparently wasn’t anywhere he could be back there yet. Both Dad and Papa Nyx’s scents were pure comfort as both made sure to give as much skin to skin contact as was possible and appropriate. 

_“Rise from your cold hospital bed. I'll tell you, you're not dying. Everyone knows you're going to live, So you might as well start trying…”_

There was a buzzing feeling against Prompto’s side, making him whimper as it persisted. The only person other than Papa Nyx that ever talked to Dad when he was outside the palace was the King himself. King Regis was a wonderful leader that had even been so gracious as to take in Papa Nyx and his people after the attack on their homes and provide them with housing on palace grounds. They were well fed and cared for in general, as well as paid very well, and all they had to do was work for him as part of his Kingsglaive or some station in his staffing that they were best suited for. He even admitted his failure to double up defenses on Leide and Galahd, which was where Papa Nyx and the survivors came from, and started expanding defenses and soldiers to protect the regions that hadn’t been attacked yet. Some of them still weren’t happy, but they seemed willing to accept his attempts to make amends, mostly after hearing that he planned to restore their home regions. As much as Prompto admired their King for these qualities, he still couldn’t find it in him to be okay with said King calling upon his Dad at all hours of the day and night. King Regis had a pup of his own, how could he not understand that Dad had a pup that needed him? 

“I’ll be right back, Pup,” Cor promised as he pulled his phone out to find that King Regis was calling. As he slipped out of his son’s grasp, the blonde’s scent immediately flooded with anxiety. Prompto looked so broken hearted and tearful that it brought back memories to finding his two year old son quietly crying in his crib after rushing home from a surveillance mission that ran longer than it should have. He half expected the teen to reach out and beg to be carried, just as he had done fourteen years ago. “Daddy will be right over there, Sunbeam. Daddy will be right back.”

With that, he pressed a kiss to his son’s forehead and answered the call. Looking back as he waited for Regis to realize his call had been answered, he felt his heart break as he faintly heard his pup’s whimpers. Nyx, the saint that he was, started pulling Prompto into his lap as if he were still that tiny pup from all those years ago. He helped Prompto shimmy out of the carrier for Clera and cuddled him close so they were chest to chest. Cor’s scent filled with gratitude as he made eye contact with the Glaive.

“Cor..? Cor, are you there?” Regis questioned over the connection.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Cor answered, keeping an eye on his son.

“Good. I want a status report. There’s word that there was an incident outside the Harlings’ bakery this afternoon,” Regis commanded.

“There was an incident, Your Majesty,” Cor sighed, fighting the memory of panic that made his body want to tense up. Getting a call that your pup was covered in blood and in the midst of a gun fight was enough to induce a heart attack if not make an Alpha go feral at the rush of pure rage and urge to protect. “I apologize for my sudden departure, but that incident is the reason for it. My pup was out for his after school run and ended up at the bakery. The Harlings called me to inform me that an altercation took place outside their store and that Prompto was in the middle of it.”

“An altercation? What was the reason?” Regis pressed, his tone even as if he were withholding judgment until all the details were shared.

“We aren’t sure. There were no patrons outside at the time of the altercation and all of the Harlings were inside the bakery when it began,” Cor reported, fighting the image of the scene as they pulled up and his new perspective after hearing the details Gladiolus had shared with him. “Our best guess is that the two assailants were grunts for whoever is kidnapping the Omegas.”

“Only two? Were they caught? Or did they flee the scene when you arrived?” 

“They were both dead upon our arrival, Your Majesty,” Cor numbly replied, still refusing to believe that the very boy that was currently clinging to Nyx was the same one that murdered the two mystery men with such accuracy in self defense. “When we got to the scene, the Harlings were with Prompto, who had Clera and Umbra with him.”

“Umbra?! Why in Ifrit’s Pit was Umbra there? Where is he now?” Regis demanded, the confusion and outrage seeping into his voice. “Your son better not have killed my pup’s only friend or so help me, he’ll be fed to the Tide Mother!”

“He’s the one that saved Umbra, Your Majesty. My pup would never harm an innocent animal, let alone one that saved his life,” Cor ground out, having to halt the growl that started to travel through the microphone. He cleared his throat and continued his recounting of the most likely scenario. “As far as we can tell from Ignis and Gladiolus’ scans of the area, the two assailants attempted to chase my pup when Umbra got in their way. Umbra was likely shot at by one of those two. According to Gladiolus’ deductions, Prompto managed to snatch a gun from one of the two and shot both of them before they could kill Umbra. He patched Umbra up and insisted we bring him to the vet, which is where we are now.”

There was silence for an uncomfortable couple of minutes as Regis considered the Royal Advisor’s words. Cor barely broke his gaze away from his son long enough to notice Gladiolus trying to eavesdrop, evidenced both by the glances and the fact that he and Ignis had shifted closer to him.

“I apologize, Cor,” Regis wearily sighed into the phone. “Losing Noctis has been… Well, there are no words. The thought of losing Umbra, the only positive reminder of my pup I’ll have left if he’s lost to me forever, is more than I can handle. Umbra has seen Noctis through his worst days and he’s helped me as well. If it’s possible to die of a broken heart then I’m sure the loss of both my son and his faithful companion will undoubtedly do me in.”

“I understand, Your Majesty,” Cor submitted with his own sigh. “I’ve spent sixteen years worried that one day someone will come for my pup. Now that they’re snatching Omegas and he’s so much more vulnerable than the average Omega… I feel the same way. If something happened to him, or Six, help me, even that ridiculous little Clera of his, I think that I’d have to do myself in if my body didn’t do it for me.”

“You never told me Prompto had a dog,” Regis accused, his tone a bit lighter.

“He doesn’t… I’ve never mentioned his companion before now because I figured it would only bring pain,” Cor confessed, feeling the urge to hold his breath.

“What do you mean by that, Cor?” 

“His companion is a Carbuncle, Your Majesty,” Cor elaborated, looking to his shaking pup on the couch in the arms of his closest… friend. “He had seen it skirting parts of Insomnia for some time now, but he thought he was mistaking a rabbit for it. There was an incident in the forested area of the park, about a month ago. From what we could tell there was a stray animal that attacked this carbuncle and Prompto was able to get near it, or rather, her. He named her Clera and she’s been with us since.” 

“I can see why you thought it best to shield that information from me,” Regis submitted with a touch of bitterness in his tone. Carbuncles were a sore subject in the palace. “In the future, don’t worry about sparing my feelings. Especially if your pup is involved in some way. I know you’ve grown fond of him, but remember why we have him in the first place.”

“I do, Your Majesty,” Cor responded. “I wish I could forget. I wish that wasn’t the reason why I have him… I want so much better for him…”

“I know, Old Friend,” Regis sympathized. “But the reason has not changed, regardless of whether your feelings have. In light of Gladiolus’s deductions, I think it’s best if you and Prompto move into the Palace until further notice. If he is capable of taking down two of those assailants by himself, there may be more cause for concern than we originally assumed.”

“I understand. All I ask is that you remember and honor our agreements,” Cor yielded, a small note of anxiety tickling at the edge of his conscious thoughts. Regis was King, anything he said, went. If he wanted anyone put down, it was so. 

“I remember. An agreement bound by the Crystal is one that cannot be broken unless the breaker welcomes their own slow and painful death,” Regis assured his advisor. “I will send for Iris to have one of the Kingsglaive take her so she can pack bags for the both of you. As soon as you have received Umbra and Clera back into your care, you are to come straight to the palace. Am I clear, Cor?”

“Crystal, Your Majesty,” Cor bowed, glaring at the young Alpha by the fish tank once again. 

The call concluded and Cor felt exhausted, but the ‘tweetles’ as Nyx called them, still needed to be dealt with for their eavesdropping. He looked longingly towards his companion and pup. If only he could skip over this conversation and just get back holding his pup, everything would seem much less dismal.

“Gladiolus. Ignis. By me. Now.” Cor practically barked in his best indoor voice.

He could smell the disdain rolling off the young Alpha. Astrals, each generation was worse than the last! Always thinking they knew better than experienced Alphas… Cor let a growl loose as he stared them down. He could tell Ignis was trying to be a good Omega and please both Alphas by trying to coax Gladiolus over to their superior. After a moment, the Omega succeeded and they both stood attentively before the Royal Advisor.

“Are you aware of the punishment for eavesdropping in Niflheim?” Cor quizzed the two.

“No, Sir,” They both responded.

“If you would have been caught even attempting or seeming like you might attempt to eavesdrop on a conversation, especially between the Emperor and anyone he might have been talking to,” Cor lead up, watching their reactions and sniffing their scents for hints of anxiety. The young Alpha would never admit to the notes of concern in his scent. “You would have been subjected to the perforation of both of your tympanic membranes. Do you know what that means?”

Both shook their head.

“It means they would destroy your eardrum and shred your middle ear,” Cor elaborated for them. “This would mean that you be deaf and forced to learn Sign and Scent Language. It’s archaic and primal, but effective. Those people never again try to involve themselves in someone else’s business. King Regis prides himself on being tough but fair and forward thinking so it isn’t a punishment he would go for. Unless his Royal Advisor thought it prudent to teach a permanent lesson to insubordinates. Now, tell me what this conversation was about.”

“Punishments in Niflheim,” Gladiolus half-assed.

“You’re lucky my pup is within sight or I’d acquaint you with the punishments for insubordination right here,” Cor threatened. “What about you, Omega? Would you like to join him for a belated punishment once my Pup is tucked in?”

“No, Sir,” Ignis disagreed. “The point of the conversation was that eavesdropping is more than frowned upon. It was a reminder that laws and punishments in Lucis are fairly mild and certainly preferable to some alternatives like tympanic membrane damage. Your last comment was a warning that while King Regis doesn’t ordinarily resort to those measures, you would ensure he understood the purpose and pros of the punishment. Particularly, when it comes to us.”

“Very good, Omega,” Cor praised, stepping forward and tilting his head in an invitation to initiate scenting. Ignis accepted the invitation, scenting one another and grinning happily as he was given as smile and gentle caress of the jawline in reward. “Care to tell me what you two heard from my _private_ conversation, Alpha?”

“Very little, Sir,” Gladiolus responded, nearly grinding his teeth as he fought the urge to brawl with the older Alpha.

“Omega, this is your chance to save this Alpha from the most disgraceful and deserved punishment for all his infractions during his time in the Kingsglaive thus far,” Cor warned as he turned towards Ignis once more, but not before shooting a glare to the smart ass Alpha.

“Most of what we heard was your re-telling of the events of the bakery incident as far as we’ve deduced,” Ignis reported, his scent tainted with worry for his companion. “We caught bits and pieces of your discord over the cause of Umbra’s injuries and the explanation of the carbuncle in your pup’s care.”

“Do you hear your Omega companion?” Cor pointed out to Gladiolus. “That is what a good Glaive should sound like. He is what a good Glaive should be. Not half-assed responses, scowls, and insubordination. If the punishment tonight doesn’t get it through your thick, primal Alpha brain, then you may face dismissal after all. Nyx and I talked King Regis down from your immediate termination- that goes for both of you because the Omega is guilty by association- because we see potential in you pups. We may even like you one day. But with your disappointing behavior today, this won’t be the day.”

“Understood, Sir,” Gladiolus conceded, his scent augmented with defeat and acceptance as he looked sorrowfully to his Omega counterpart.

“I extend the invitation to scent to both of you. If you accept, then you are letting me know that you understand the potential consequences going forward and that you must stay on Nyx’s good side if you have any chance of escaping my future wrath,” Cor stated, looking between the two of them. “If you fail to exceed both of our expectations, which fall in line with the King’s, then we will vie for your immediate termination and temporary detainment. If that doesn’t fix you, I’m sure the King wouldn’t mind a callback to the glory days when defectors and traitors were hunted for fun. Back then, if you were among the upper percentile of your ranking, you could survive long enough to escape because the King never leaves Insomnia and his men only go as far as he commands. That being said, do you accept or shall I draw up your resignations?”

“We accept,” Gladiolus answered after receiving a nod from Ignis. 

With that, Gladiolus scented the older Alpha and received a brief embrace. Ignis then took his turn to scent and received his own embrace. Cor dismissed them with a nod and watched as they took a seat on the couch near the fish tank to cuddle. Satisfied that they were set straight, the older Alpha returned to his friend and son. He shed his jacket and button down to reveal the plain black tee he wore underneath it all. Now that he had been through all that unpleasantness and re-lived some of the horrors of his undercover missions in Niflheim, Cor needed more skin to skin contact with his pup. He needed the comfortable weight of Prompto held in his arms and steady pace around the waiting room. Cor approached and extended his arms to initiate the transfer, which startled his semi-calm, semi-anxious pup.

“Shhh, shh, it’s alright, Sunbeam,” Cor assured the teen as he hefted his son into his arms and positioned so they were chest to chest.It brought back many pleasant, sweet memories of all the times he’d come home and just walk laps with his tiny pup in his arms. It used to put Prompto to sleep while calming him from the stress of his day. “I know this odd for us. I realize now that we stopped too soon. You are an Omega and you need your Daddy to be the comforting Alpha until you find your mate… I promise I will try so much harder for you, Sunbeam…”

“W-what h-h-happened?” Prompto murmured into the crook of his Dad’s neck.

“Your old Daddy had to be the big tough Alpha,” Cor joked, pressing his nose to his son’s filthy hair. “You’ve softened me up over the years, Sunbeam. I’m not as tough as I used to be.”

“N-not s-s-supposed to l-lie,” Prompto tiredly accused, resting his hands on his Dad’s shoulders with his arms comfortably supported by the man’s chest..

“That wasn’t a lie,” Cor defended, starting a steady lap around the waiting room as Nyx rose to join them.

“Uh huh and you didn’t threaten to force me to shoot my own foot for insulting your Pup’s first photograph,” Nyx joined in, making the teen smirk.

“That was years ago. I’m a teddy bear now,” Cor argued, shooting a mock hurt look at his fellow Glaive.

“So you didn’t just threaten to shred the tweetles’ eardrums for eavesdropping?” Nyx challenged, shooting his friend a knowing look.

“Okay, fine, I’m not a teddy bear,” Cor huffed.

“Tw-tweetles?” Prompto questioned.

“That’s what Papa calls the Prince’s Kingsglaive,” Cor explained, nuzzling his son’s cheek. “The big brunette is Gladiolus and the dirty blonde with glasses is Ignis. Ignis is an Omega and Gladiolus is an Alpha. Papa likes to call them tweetles because they’re still very young for being in the Kingsglaive. He jokes that it’s like trying to train chickatrices.”

“I’m starting to think that training chickatrices would be easier,” Nyx grumbled, glancing over at the pair on the sofa as Prompto chuckled at their commentary. “They’re good pups, but, damn, they need to get their acts together.”

“Gladiolus is the real problem, I’m telling you,” Cor remarked, worry tinging his scent as Prompto’s changed to have a heavy note of despair. “Prompto, what’s the matter? Are you okay?”

“G-G-Gladiolus l-l-lost th-the P-P-Prince,” Prompto whimpered, imagining some terrible dungeon where the raven haired boy might be trapped.

“We’ll get him back, Pup,” Nyx reminded him, rubbing the teen’s back as they started their second lap. “Now that we’ve gotten to see what these kidnapping grunts look like, we can start figuring out where they came from.”

“P-p-promise?” Prompto insisted, looking between his two favorite people.

“We promise, Pup,” Nyx quickly responded, earning a concerned look from Cor. He simply shrugged in response.

“What’s with all this concern for Prince Noctis, Sunbeam?” Cor questioned, genuinely curious what brought it on.

“I-I-I w-wanted to b-be h-h-his fr-friend,” Prompto admitted, his face heating up as he avoided eye contact. “Th-thought h-he w-wouldn’t w-w-wanna b-be fr-friends w-with th-the s-s-school r-r-reject… Y-ya kn-know, ‘c-c-cause h-he’s a P-P-Prince…”

“Oh, Sweet Pea…” Cor breathed, feeling as though he just got the wind knocked out of him. “I’m sure that Prince Noctis would have loved to be your friend.”

“I-I-It’s n-not n-n-nice t-to l-lie,” Prompto frowned.

“He’s not lying, Prom,” Nyx disagreed, peering at an angle to make eye contact. “Prince Noctis didn’t have any friends other than Umbra until Gladiolus and Ignis came along. And he doesn’t consider them friends yet. As much as he adores Lady Lunafreya, they haven’t reached the friend threshold yet. They’ve only spoken a few times and seen each other once. She came to gift him Umbra for his birthday to cheer him up.”

“Mr. Ulric and Mr. Leonis,” Hannah called, keeping the door open with her foot.

“What is the update on Umbra and Clera?” Cor prompted, gently swaying to keep both himself and his son calm.

“Umbra had to get a bit of a patchwork haircut so we could properly stitch up everything, but he’s gonna be just fine. He will be in a partial cast for the leg that was shot. It’s mostly to discourage him from putting weight on it at this point since the bullet went straight through and gave it a clean break. We have a small packet of discharge paperwork. I’m sure that your little vet in training will be able to tell what to do from that,” Hannah briefed them. “He did an excellent job with Clera. Thankfully, no ribs are broken, still fractured. She still needs a few more weeks in the setting wrap that he’s had on her. Her back leg didn’t rebreak, which is definitely good. As is typical, she’s weak on that leg from disuse so we gave her a gentle compression wrap to help her feel more supported on that leg. With some coaxing and practice she’ll be walking just fine by the time her ribs are healed up. We have some paperwork for her as well, mostly just helpful tips and tricks to make sure she gets active in moderation.”

“That’s good,” Nyx noted, looking to his companions and glancing the tweetles looking awfully disinterested. That deaf threat really did a number on them…

“Are we able to take them home then?” Cor spoke up, feeling the teen’s grip tighten in anticipation.

“Normally, we would prefer to keep Umbra overnight, but seeing as we know that your pup is knowledgeable and will be looking after him, we’ll go ahead and release him,” Hannah qualified, leaning against the door jamb. “We will have you sign disclaimers that should stitches pop or anything like that from failure to follow discharge instructions, we are not responsible due to early release of the furry patient.”

“You do realize that he’ll still ‘advise’ the King to prematurely end the careers of everyone in this office if something goes wrong, right?” Nyx scoffed, crossing his arms as he locked eyes with her.

“We are aware,” Hannah stiffly acknowledged. “But it is still protocol even if the King and his Advisor may decide to end our careers regardless of this waiver. If I lose my career, I’d rather it not be over paperwork infractions.” 

“Fair enough.” Nyx agreed.

“Can we come back and see them now, then?” Cor demanded, irritation flaring up in his scent. He sighed a he allowed his fidgeting pup to be set down. It was nice while it lasted…

“U-Umbra a-a-and Cl-clera, n-now p-p-please,” Prompto insisted as he turned towards Hannah.

“Right this way,” Hannah consented, pulling the door all the way open for them.

“Keep an eye on our things, Tweetles,” Nyx called to Gladiolus and Ignis before following his small family to the back.

Hannah led them to the first exam room down a long hall to the right. Inside, Clera had claimed the second shelf on a wall cabinet and Umbra was asleep in a plush bed under the counter. As the vet tech had explained, Umbra was missing fur in the places where they had to stitch him up, which was accentuated by the gauze taped onto those bald spots. His cast was the same green as his collar, which made Prompto frown since it seemed fairly ridiculous to him. The blonde made a beeline for Clera, who yipped happily and wagged her tail as her human approached. She made sure to shower him in kisses as he held her close, that empty hole feeling a lot less empty. Once they had gotten their welcoming affections, Prompto laid on the floor and curled around Umbra with Clera carefully laid between them. He buried his face in the dog’s fur and felt guilt wash over him. If he hadn’t spent so much time debating on whether he was allowed to use that stupid gun or not, Umbra wouldn’t be wounded and miserable. 

“Pup, what’s going on?” Cor questioned, kneeling next to his son. Nyx could handle the signatures and take all the run-downs- his pup was more important than veterinary procedure. 

“M-m-my f-fault,” Prompto whimpered, feeling his throat constrict with his grief. “D-d-didn’t sh-shoot f-fast e-e-enough… I-I-I w-was t-t-too s-scared y-you’d s-send m-me a-away f-for d-disobeying… N-n-not s-supposed t-to h-have o-or u-use o-one a-alone…”

“Oh, Sweet Pea, I would never send you away for defending yourself,” Cor insisted, rubbing his arm. “You couldn’t have known or stopped Umbra from doing what he did. He’s a protector like Daddy and Papa. I am so proud of you for saving yourself and Umbra and Clera. Your actions also protected everyone in the bakery today. While I don’t want you to throw yourself in danger, I will never be mad or upset to the point that you would be sent away if you protect yourself and others in situations like that. If I lose you, my life is over. You are my pup and my reason to keep existing so losing you would mean my death.”

“I-I-I l-love y-you, Daddy,” Prompto choked out as the tears started. 

“I love you so much, Prompto,” Cor reciprocated, leaning down and planting kisses along his pup’s face. “Always my pup?”

“A-a-always,” Prompto sniffled, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

“Are we ready?” Nyx spoke up, looking to his long time friend and godson. 

“Y-yeah,” Prompto submitted, getting up with his Dad’s help and taking Clera in his arms.

“So we’re sending the bed home with Umbra to ensure his comfort on the ride home,” Hannah added in. “We will slide him into a carrier and help you get it into your vehicle. Whenever you transport him, be sure to use the carrier and bed since they will help reduce how much he’s jostled.”

With that, everything set into motion. Nyx helped Hannah get Umbra in a rather large pet carrier while Cor and Prompto joined Ignis and Gladiolus in the reception area to brief them on what was happening next. Nyx and Hannah took the carrier out to the car where she spotted the body bags in the back. The Glaive made sure she knew to keep her mouth shut or risk becoming a mute and then be exiled for treason. 

“We’re going straight to the palace on King Regis’ orders,” Cor informed them, bracing himself for his son’s dismay. The pup was a creature of habit and disliked straying from their norm. 

“W-why?” Prompto questioned, his nerves on edge. Did King Regis want to punish him for Umbra’s injuries? Was he in trouble for using a gun without a permit? Or… was he going to be detained and retrained by the Handler for killing those two man-machines…

“It’s okay, Pup,” Cor insisted, tightening his grip around the boy’s shoulders. “King Regis just wants Umbra home and wants to keep an eye on us. After what happened today, it might not be safe at home. The palace is heavily guarded at all times by the Kingsglaives and the City Guards.”

“F-f-fine,” Prompto submitted, leaning into his Dad. “C-c-can w-we p-p-please g-go n-now?”

“Of course, Sunbeam,” Cor agreed, kissing his temple. “Let’s grab our stuff and we’ll go.”

“No need. I already packed everything into the SUV.” Nyx dismissed. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Cor took a deep breath and huffed it out. It had certainly been a long day and it wasn’t even over yet. The small family made their way out to the vehicle, resuming their spots from the trip over. Nyx didn’t bother putting on the sirens for the drive to the palace. There was no real urgency to get back. It was nearly eight in the evening and at least half the populace- the half made up of Omegas and Betas- was already at home or nearly there. Everyone knew that the only reason an Omega or Beta should be anywhere other than home was if they worked in one of the many ‘late night establishments,’ meaning the strip and sex clubs that unmated Alphas frequented to get their fill of attention and satisfaction. These clubs had very strict rules and harsh punishments should any Alpha break the rules or harm any of the members that agreed to serve them. The lights attracted Prompto’s eyes as they passed one of the most popular clubs, Draconian’s Den, which was a particularly _experimental_ club where Alphas could both put Omegas in their place (to an extent, there are always rules) and be put in their place by feisty, sassy Omegas or the occasional Betas. The Betas typically only handled aftercare for Omegas and the basic functions that kept the place running. 

The blonde had overheard many tales from the seniors at school that talked of trips their parents either took them on or funded. Usually those first time trips were done at the most vanilla establishment, the Carbuncle’s Nest. It was more cuddling than screwing but worked its way up to it to get each rank familiar with the workings of their position in the future. Prompto hated the name, but appreciated the innovation and safe space for exploration, though Dad made it very clear that he would not be taking any such trips. That was fine by him. He didn’t want some random taking his virtue- that was for his mate to take. The blonde teen yawned and grinned down at Clera, who was sleeping in his lap. He hoped she wouldn’t get into too much trouble at the palace. He wasn’t sure how any of them would react to seeing a carbuncle, but he’d die before he’d let her die. Hopefully, she would behave herself so that no one would notice she was there. He’d learned that it was the best strategy to stay alive and well.

  
 _“The piano is not firewood yet. They try to remember but still they forget That the heart beats in threes, Just like a waltz. And nothing can stop you from dancing… Rise from your cold hospital bed. I'll tell you, you're not dying. Everyone knows you're going to live So you might as well start trying… The piano is not firewood yet. But the cold does get cold, So it soon might be that. I'll take it apart, call up my friends, And we'll warm up our hands by the fire…”_ \- Regina Spektor, “Firewood”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone figured out what's wrong with Prompto yet? Any guesses where the man-machines came from?


	3. The Story of the Prince and His Dog Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A SCENE OF ABUSE TOWARDS THE END. THESE LYRICS PRECEDE SAID SCENE: “The piano is not firewood yet, But a heart can't be helped. And it gathers regret… Someday you'll wake up and feel a great pain… And you'll miss every toy you ever owned…”
> 
> THERE IS ALSO MENTION OF DIFFICULT PREGNANCY/FAILED PREGNANCY, DAMAGING PROCEDURES, OMEGA PUBERTY AND OTHER UNSETTLING TOPICS. IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE OR DO NOT DESIRE TO READ, DO NOT READ THIS.
> 
> READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS IS YOUR TRIGGER WARNING.

_“The piano is not firewood yet. They try to remember but still they forget That the heart beats in threes, Just like a waltz. And nothing can stop you from dancing… Rise from your cold hospital bed. I'll tell you, you're not dying. Everyone knows you're going to live So you might as well start trying… The piano is not firewood yet. But the cold does get cold, So it soon might be that. I'll take it apart, call up my friends, And we'll warm up our hands by the fire…”_

Prompto wasn’t sure what he expected to see when they rolled up to the palace. The place was massive and looked as though a famous sculptor ripped it out their dreamscape while still giving off the vibe that it wasn’t a lackluster mausoleum, but an inviting hearth of safety with plenty of room for everyone you love. His anxiety persisted, but mixed with excitement and awe at the beautiful building before them. The SUV came to a stop at the foot of the steps leading to the massive wooden doors and Papa Nyx cut the engine. 

“Ignis and Gladiolus, you two will take the bodies to the cellar until the King advises otherwise,” Cor spoke up as the two young Glaives made to exit the vehicle. “Nyx, can you get Umbra into our rooms?”

“If it weren’t for your pup having a bad day, I’d say you’re too frail to do it yourself, Old Man,” Nyx shot at the other with a playful smirk as he unbuckled and exited the car.

“Oh, yes, your Papa is hilarious,” Cor grumbled as he noticed the teen attempting to stifle a chuckle. Before Prompto could agree, he was cut off by his stomach growling. “When’s the last time you ate, Pup?”

“L-lunch,” Prompto meekly responded, avoiding his Dad’s eyes.

Cor was silent for a moment before speaking up, “Well, I think a bath is in order and then we’ll have dinner. Ignis is a fairly good cook so I’m certain he could scrape something together for us. Hopefully, he’ll accept the challenge.”

“A-a-are w-we g-gonna s-s-see the K-K-King?” Prompto questioned, uncertain about whether he’d rather hear yes over no.

“Most likely, Sunbeam,” Cor sighed, not liking the thought of it. Regis was a good person, but he knew all too well their agreement. “After all, he hasn’t seen you since you were a baby.”

“You two move slower than an adamantoise,” Nyx teased, carefully hefting the large carrier out of the car and setting it on the ground. “Libertus is not so patiently waiting to escort you to your rooms.”

“If I had a gil for every time that man lost his patience, I’d already be in retirement,” Cor shook his head, opening the door and exiting the vehicle. “Is Clarus still on duty?”

“I don’t know why you bother asking,” Nyx called. “You know that man is as glued to King Regis as we are to each other.”

“Silly me,” Cor commented to himself as Prompto lifted Clera into his arms and slid out of the car. “Do you remember Papa Libertus?”

“U-uh-h-huh,” Prompto responded, more focused on repositioning the carbuncle in his arms as his Dad shut their door. “A-always p-p-picking o-on P-P-Papa N-Nyx…”

“Sometimes I think it’ll never end,” Nyx commentated as he walked by with the carrier, having to stop every few feet to adjust his hold. Umbra was a sizable dog and he definitely wasn’t underweight.

Cor rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around the teen’s shoulders, leading them up the stone steps as the front door opened for Ignis and Gladiolus, who were carrying the body bags stacked on top of one another. The estate really was beautiful. Lush, green grass and shrubbery with strategically planted blossoms and trees. It was a man made Heaven springing from the earth. As the two passed through the door, Libertus stepped out to greet them. 

“Who is that lanky, dirty creature?” Libertus spoke up, feigning confusion. 

“V-very f-f-funny, P-Papa L-Libertus,” Prompto dismissed with a roll of his eyes.

“Prompto?! Whatever happened to you, Pup?” Libertus questioned, not having been filled in on the events of the day.

“Not now, Libertus,” Nyx called, shooting a warning look to his friend as he finally reached the top of the stairs with the carrier.

Prompto’s scent tinged with panic as his mind recalled the events of the day. He stopped dead in his tracks, his breathing picking up and eyes blurred with tears.

“Sunbeam, look at me,” Cor encouraged, gently turning his son’s face towards his own. “It’s alright. It’s over and we’re safe now. King Regis won’t let anything happen to us.”

Prompto met his father’s eyes and saw he was telling the truth. He tilted his neck to expose his primary scent gland in a plea for comfort. Cor happily responded, shifting them so that they were each engulfed in one another’s scent. The Royal Advisor (as he preferred to be known over being the Marshal- after having a pup of his own, he understood the importance of ridding violence from the world) shot a glare to Libertus, a warning that he would certainly be dealt with if he so much as blinked in an unsavory manner around Prompto. Once the blonde was relatively calm again, they turned back to Libertus and Nyx.

“Nyx said you’re to show us where the King desires us to reside in his home,” Cor prompted when the Glaive neither said nor did anything.

“Right. Follow me,” Libertus instructed, gathering his wits and ushering them into the palace. Nyx shook his head and followed them in, being sure to seal the front doors before once again retrieving Umbra’s carrier. “King Regis delayed dinner this evening after the plans were made to integrate you two into the palace. We were surprised he’s even eating, to tell you the truth…”

“That old fool has been skipping meals whenever he thinks Clarus and I don’t notice,” Cor scoffed, looking to the paintings as they continued towards the grand, partially spiraling staircase. “What do you think so far, Sunbeam?”

“I-It’s b-b-beautiful…” Prompto murmured, afraid to raise his voice as if he might wake the figures in the paintings.

“You’ll be down the hall from the King and…” Libertus hesitated, unsure of whether it was wise to mention the missing Prince. Nyx simply shrugged, which was no help.

“The Prince’s room,” Cor supplied, watching his pup to see if the same upset was triggered by the mention.

Prompto focused his gaze on Clera, trying his best not to think about Noctis being in some dank, dark cellar or dungeon or basement… He noticed a gleam in the carbuncle’s eye that suggested she may just get herself into trouble yet.

“D-don’t e-e-even th-think a-about i-it, Cl-Clera,” Prompto warned the tiny creature.

“What was that, Pup?” Cor wondered aloud as he looked to find the blonde having a staring contest with the carbuncle.

“N-nothing, D-Daddy,” Prompto assured, innocently looking up at his guardian.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Cor disagreed, still giving the teen a soft smile. “Are you ready for a nice soak in the tub just like when you were little?”

Prompto nodded, startling when he looked up to find Libertus had stopped. 

“Here we are,” Libertus opened the door to a beautiful bedroom filled with many luxuries. 

There was a gorgeous entertainment center with a rather large television, plenty of dressers, a vanity with a plush seat, a large closet, and a king sized bed with the most simple but luxurious linens. The floor was polished marble with a rug that covered the majority of the floor and depicted a beautiful scene of the old Tenebrae palace. Nyx slipped past them and into the room. They watched as he took the door off of the carrier and situated it next to the nightstand that was closest to the bedroom and just out of the way of the door on the wall next to it which was open to a massive bathroom. 

“This is your room, Pup,” Nyx spoke up as Cor ushered the teen into the room. “Daddy’s is connected to yours by that bathroom.”

Prompto froze. He was going to be in a strange new place, a completely foreign bedroom, by himself? He was a broken Omega and they thought it was acceptable to do that to him? What about the day that he had suggested that this was a good idea? The once enticing room seemed much more sinister and cold despite the warm colors used in its color palette. 

“Why are we being separated?” Cor demanded, looking to Libertus. 

“From the bits and pieces I got from King Regis, he assumed you two slept separate and that the tweetles would be standing guard so no harm, no foul, I guess,” Libertus responded with his hands up in a surrendering gesture. 

“Ignis and Gladio will be present when Nyx and I have our audience with the King this evening but after that, I will be sharing a room with my pup,” Cor insisted, giving off a warning scent that he wasn’t to be challenged. “You won’t be alone while you’re here, Pup, I promise.”

Prompto didn’t respond, just burrowed into his Dad’s side. Sure, Dad was gonna keep him safe and cuddled when they went to bed. That was great- he loved that plan. But he was first going to have to spend time with two Glaives that he didn’t know and he was pretty sure didn’t like him? Still a bad idea. No doubt about it. Bad, bad idea. Though Ignis didn’t radiate any particular feeling towards the teen, said teen knew that Gladio had a particular disdain, possibly even hatred, for him. 

“We’ll work that out after dinner,” Cor sighed, sensing the discomfort from the blonde boy. “For now, let’s get you cleaned up.”

“While you two get settled, I’m gonna grab Libertus here and go make sure the tweetles haven’t gotten into trouble,” Nyx noted, nodding for Libertus to exit and walk with him.

The two Glaives exited, closing the door behind them. Cor looked to his son with an internal sigh. He didn’t like the thought of leaving Gladiolus anywhere near his pup with the way the Alpha looked at him earlier… At the same time, he was certain that Ignis could dissuade said Alpha from any unsavory words or actions. He had hope that Prompto and Ignis would get along well since they were both Omegas and Ignis was a very amiable person in general. 

“How about that bath?” Cor suggested, running his fingers through the slightly matted blonde hair.

Prompto nodded and shuffled to the bed to lay Clera on one of the pillows. He gave her a warning look before kissing her ruby horn. He should probably grab clothes beforehand, but he was pretty certain that none of his stuff was in this unfamiliar room. The teen looked to his Dad with confusion. What was he supposed to wear?

“King Regis had Gladiolus’ little sister pick up some things for us. She probably set your things in the dresser,” Cor supplied, crossing to sit on the edge of the bed. “Go take a look and grab something comfy.”

Prompto hesitated, watching to make sure Dad didn’t leave. As he made his way over to the dresser next to the vanity, he peered at the bed to find Dad sitting there and petting Clera. Satisfied, the blonde opened the top drawer to find underwear and socks. He felt his face heat up when he saw that the young Alpha’s little sister had found the novelty chocobo print boxer briefs that Dad bought him for Christmas. He grabbed one of the plain pairs and moved to the next drawer to find tees in it. He grabbed his track tee and opened the third drawer, which held all manners of bottoms from basketball shorts to joggers to jeans. He grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and closed the drawer. Prompto made his way over and stood between his Dad’s knees, a habit from when he first learned to walk that never went away. Dad already knew that he was hoping for a hug and received a full, scent indulgent hug as Dad gently swayed them side to side for a moment.

“Let’s go get cleaned up so we can get some dinner,” Cor spoke up after a few more moments.

Prompto simply nodded and backed out of the embrace. He could tell that Prompto was fading fast by the lack of verbal response. Usually, silence meant that he was feeling extra submissive or very tired, sometimes both.

“Did you take your medicine at lunch?” Cor asked, taking the teen’s hand and guiding him to the bathroom. 

He flicked the light on and continued towards the tub as he received a nod from his son. He let go of his pup’s hand and started fiddling with the faucet. He let it run for a moment and adjusted it to Prompto’s preferred temperature. He was shocked when Prompto started telling him to make the water so scaldingly hot, but he had noticed that his son seemed to have trouble staying warm at times, which the doctors had guessed might have been a circulation issue. With that settled, he stopped up the tub and turned back to his very dazed pup. He gently grabbed the clothes from the blonde’s grasp and relocated them to the counter. As he made his way back over, he noticed that Iris had even thought to pack their various soaps and even set them up on the ledges of the bath. Cor made a mental note to do something extra nice for her. Which made him wonder if maybe she and Prompto would enjoy spending time together… 

“Alright, Sweet Pea, time to get out of those clothes and into the tub,” Cor narrated, kneeling to remove the boy’s shoes and socks. He tapped Prompto’s ankle every time he needed one of the feet off the floor and felt the teen grasping his shoulders. “Alright, let’s get that nasty tee off…”

Cor was a bit concerned at how Prompto seemed to struggle to keep his arms up. The fatigue was setting in faster than he thought it would… He struggled to clear his mind and focus as he moved to remove the teen’s shorts and underwear in one swift motion. With some hesitation despite the privacy, he removed the sweatband covering his pup’s wrist an unfortunate markings. Once he was as naked as the day Cor found him, the Alpha guided his pup into the water and turned the faucet off. He watched with fondness as Prompto yawned and started to lean back into the curvature of the tub. The tub itself was a blessing since it was designed to allow a full grown Alpha to be able to fully submerge if that was the desire or to lounge since the end opposite the faucet was slanted for back support and even had a dip for the neck and head to rest comfortably on vinyl cushions. 

“Is my Pup getting sleepy?” Cor hummed, retrieving a cup from the ledge to help him dampen the teen’s hair. 

Prompto nodded a bit awkwardly. He softly smiled at his Dad. He missed baths like this. It was one of those desires that a number of- but not all- Omegas had that some found childish. Snooty Betas loves to mock the Omegas that had those desires, but Omegas got the last laugh since they often lived stress free lives after finding the perfect Alpha to mate with. Alphas were known for their ambition, success, and stability among other things. Prompto thought it might be nice to have an Alpha like his Dad to mate with- someone stable, clear headed and caring… 

“Are you lost in the clouds, Little Bird?” Cor teased as he scooped up water to dampen the boy’s hair. Prompto nodded and smiled sheepishly up at him. “I’m going to start wetting your hair so we can wash all the gross stuff out.”

Cor learned that telling Prompto exactly what was happening was key when it came to bath time. He had a few episodes growing up where he would become unconscious and slip into the water and would always come to with a panic attack. When he seemed to grow out of those episodes, the panic stayed. Prompto was terrified of having water on his face- hence why Cor never could convince him to take swimming lessons. He delicately wet the blonde hair hair until it was fully soaked and grabbed the teen’s favorite sugary smelling shampoo. It was supposed to smell like vanilla and coffee but it smelled more like a cupcake. 

“I know you’re exhausted, but I need to talk with you before you float too far away,” Cor spoke up as he lathered shampoo between his hands. He got the teen to sit up and began his soothing ministrations. “I need you to tell me what happened at the bakery today, Sweet Pea.”

“N-n-no… P-please, n-n-no…” Prompto whimpered, turning pleading blue eyes to his Dad. 

“I don’t want to make you relive it, but I need to know in case there’s anything that might help us figure out why they came after you,” Cor responded, continuing to carefully scrub the blood and dirt out of his son’s hair. The shampoo was starting to turn from milky white to cloudy pink. “Just tell me what you can. Pretend you’re reading a story to help you distance yourself.”

“I-I w-w-was l-leaving w-when I s-saw e-everyone f-f-from b-before w-was g-g-gone,” Prompto submitted, closing his eyes and trying to focus on Dad’s smell and the feel of his strong hands scrubbing away the day’s stress. “Th-they w-w-were o-outside l-like th-they w-were l-l-looking f-for s-s-something… I t-tried t-to s-see i-if C-Calluna h-had s-s-seen them… Sh-she w-wanted m-me to c-come b-b-back in, b-but th-the m-m-man m-m-machines w-would’ve f-followed m-me. W-when I l-looked a-again, th-they w-were cl-closing in o-on m-m-me… I t-t-tried t-to r-r-run b-but th-they c-c-cut m-me o-off. I f-f-fell o-on o-one a-a-and h-he d-dropped h-his g-gun…”

“You’re doing so, so well, Sweet Pea,” Cor praised, noticing the tears escaping his boy’s closed eyes. “Finish your story and then we’ll never have to talk about it again if you don’t want to or feel comfortable.”

“Th-they h-had n-n-no s-smell, D-Daddy,” Prompto sniffled, a chill wracking his body despite the hot water tinging his submerged flesh pink. He allowed his head to be tilted back and clenched his eyes shut as Dad began rinsing the shampoo out. “I-I f-froze. I w-was a-afraid t-to g-grab th-the g-g-gun u-until U-u-Umbra sh-showed u-up a-and tr-tried to s-s-save m-m-me… I d-d-didn’t m-mean t-to k-k-kill th-them, D-Daddy! I d-didn’t! B-but th-they h-hurt h-him! I- I d-didn’t kn-know w-what e-else t-to d-do!”

Cor rinsed his hands and set the cup to the side. He embraced his son as he cried, not caring that his undershirt was soaked and the boy clung to him. 

“I know you didn’t mean to, Sweet Pea,” Cor murmured, nuzzling his pup’s neck. “You were just really scared and upset and wanted it to stop, huh?”

Prompto shook his head to indicate his Dad’s guess was wrong. In the moment when he took the shot he was upset, but he was also enraged and felt like he wasn’t himself…

“No? What were you feeling?” Cor inquired, pulling back to read his son’s face. 

“R-r-rage a-and l-like i-it w-w-wasn’t m-me,” Prompto corrected, terror altering his scent. 

The teen was terrified of that primal bloodlust feeling. It wasn’t normal for Omegas as far as he knew. At least, it wasn’t normal for unmated, unbred Omegas. Mated and bred Omegas had those feelings from time to time if they felt their pups or mate were being threatened or harmed. 

“Did you blackout?” Cor pressed, fighting to keep the worry out of his voice and off his face. 

“N-n-no, I-I w-w-was f-fully a-aware,” Prompto cried, his face distorting into an unattractive, miserable expression. He hated being such an ugly crier. “E-e-everything w-was cl-clearer a-and f-for a m-m-moment, I w-wanted th-them d-dead m-more th-than a-a-anything…”

“It’s okay, Prompto,” Cor soothed, not believing the sentiment. The boy had a unique and new episode and who knew if it would become a recurring thing. “We’ll figure out what happened to you and help you through it. When has Daddy ever failed to fix it?”

If Prompto weren’t so upset, he would’ve made a joke about all the times Dad tried to fix something around the apartment and made it worse or how the real reason Prompto started sleeping in a toddler bed at two was because Dad broke the latch on the crib so the side wouldn’t stay up anymore and ended up breaking the whole thing off. But at the moment, he was too upset. He’d never had an episode like that before. He hadn’t let it set in that he’d killed two living beings during that episode. He cried harder as he imagined them having families that would mourn their deaths after months of not knowing what happened. It may have started out as self defense, but he shot with intent to kill and that terrified him. 

At a loss for comforting phrases, Cor began to hum a melody that Prompto was familiar with. He used to sing it to Prompto when he was little and having a bad time.

“Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes, But it's the only thing that I know. When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes. It is the only thing that makes us feel alive. We keep this love in a photograph. We made these memories for ourselves, Where our eyes are never closing, Hearts are never broken, And time's forever frozen still,” Cor sang in a soft bass as he held Prompto close. “So you can keep me inside the pocket of your ripped jeans, Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet. You won't ever be alone, wait for me to come home. And if you hurt me, That's okay baby, only words bleed. Inside these pages you just hold me And I won't ever let you go. Wait for me to come home. Love can heal, loving can mend your soul And it's the only thing that I know, know. I swear it will get easier, Remember that with every piece of you…”

“D-Daddy,” Prompto whimpered. “W-what’s w-w-wrong w-with m-m-me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you, Sweet Pea,” Cor assured him. “And even if there is, it’s not your fault. Whatever is happening, I’ll be right here through it all. You are my first priority, always.”

“P-p-promise?” Prompto sniffled, catching a whiff of his Dad’s grounding sent and easing up on his hold. 

“I promise, Sweet Pea,” Cor reassured, kissing his damp forehead. “Let’s finish this bath and maybe we can sneak in a snuggle before dinner.”

Prompto nodded and released his hold. Cor made quick but gentle and thorough work of conditioning his hair and then washing his body. The water had cooled significantly since the teen had first gotten in and Cor was feeling a hint of a chill thanks to his damp shirt. He didn’t mind it though. He would never deny Prompto something he needed. After Prompto was fully washed up and rinsed off, Cor drained the tub and helped him wrap up in a large plush towel. The Alpha sat on the edge of the tub and just held his shivering pup. The poor thing had a hard enough day and it somehow still wasn’t over. 

“Let’s get you dressed before you shiver out of your own skin,” Cor joked, his tone lacking the intended attempt at humor. 

He was exhausted as well and wanted nothing more than to breeze through dinner and spend the night snuggling with Prompto. Unfortunately, Nyx had already gone off to request their evening audience with Regis and likely filled Libertus in on what was happening. There was no backing out of an audience with Regis, especially given the hour. He was brought from his thoughts as Prompto shakily stood and awaited his Dad’s assistance, too tired to handle much on his own. Cor retrieved the clothes from the counter and helped the teen dress and insuring the sweatband once again covered the boy’s markings on the right wrist. With that out of the way, they slipped back into the bedroom, turning the lamp on and the overhead light off. They hadn’t been given a time for dinner so they decided to take whatever time they could get. 

“Climb on up, Pup,” Cor encouraged, waiting for the boy to settle before joining him on the oversized bed. He laid on his back and rolled the teen to lay on top so they were chest to chest. He hummed and toyed with the damp strands of hair as he listened to his son’s slow breaths. “I love you so much, Prompto.”

“L-Love y-y-you t-too, D-Daddy,” Prompto sleepily replied. 

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door that roused the two from their light doze. Cor called for the person to enter and was greeted with Nyx giving them an affectionate half-smile. The three began their trek to the dining hall after Cor grabbed the blonde’s evening dose. It seemed like a lengthy walk with the exhaustion hanging over them.

“Cor, dear friend, I’m glad Nyx was able to retrieve you for our belated meal,” Regis greeted from the head of the ornate dining table. “And Prompto, I’m glad to finally see you again.” 

“Th-thank y-y-you, Y-Your M-M-Majesty,” Prompto responded with a slight bow. You were supposed to bow when you spoke to the King, weren’t you? He honestly wasn’t sure since this was a first. If he was being honest, he was surprised at how young King Regis was- he couldn’t be older than maybe 30… He certainly looked worse for wear though.

“No need to be so formal, Pup,” Regis dismissed, smiling fondly. He may not be Noctis, but it was good to have a pup in the palace and so much easier than he thought to ignore the child’s unfortunate origins. “Come, have a seat everyone.”

Cor took the seat to Regis’ right with Prompto next to him and Nyx next to Prompto. Clarus joined them a moment later with Gladio and Ignis close behind. 

“Everyone else took their dinner earlier but I thought it would be enjoyable for us to sit and eat together after today’s stressful events,” Regis commented as the culinary staff came out of the kitchen and served everyone. “I noticed you have some difficulty speaking, Prompto. I imagine you’re still shaken from earlier.”

“I-I h-have a-a-always t-talked l-like th-this, S-Sir,” Prompto responded, his brow furrowed in confusion as he looked between his Dad and Regis. Certainly the King knew all about him from Dad? Dad certainly knew all about the Prince… Maybe that’s just how it worked where Dad didn’t talk about home at work but King Regis’ home life was part of Dad’s work life so Dad knew about Prince Noctis…

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Regis sympathized taking a bite of his food. He made sure to chew and swallow before speaking again. “You’ll have to forgive my forgetfulness. Prompto, I’d like you to meet Clarus, my Shield and one of my many advisors as well as life long friend, and his son Gladiolus, my son’s shield. Next to him is Ignis, my son’s royal retainer. Both gentleman have been good friends to my son for many years.”

Prompto looked across the table at the three of them. Clarus nodded with a neutral smile where their gazes met, Gladio seemed to ignore him, and Ignis offered a friendly smile and very brief wave. Prompto offered the fellow Omega a shy smile and attempt of a wave before resuming his dinner.

“I understand that you attend school with my son,” Regis spoke up, attempting to create some friendly chatter. “Were you two close at all?”

“N-n-no, S-s-sir,” Prompto responded, avoiding the King’s eyes as sadness tainted his scent. He accepted his evening dose of medicine from his Dad and for once was relieved to have the excuse of his disability to explain his failures to date.

“I can smell that this upsets you,” Regis pointed out. “You shouldn’t feel bad, Prompto. My son is a bit difficult to get close to after the rough times we’ve been through.”

“R-r-rough t-times?” Prompto pressed, disbelief tinting his tone. He thought the whole point of being armed up to the teeth and guarded 24/7 was to avoid that.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Regis admitted, looking to Clarus for help explaining. 

“Prince Noctis has not had the blessed life that most royal heirs have,” Clarus spoke up between bites. “The most obvious difficulties being his physical handicaps and his ranking.”

“Normally the Alpha gene is dominant in male pups, but with the difficulties during his development and his mother’s ranking, he came into this world as a very unique pup,” Regis enlightened upon seeing the curiosity on the teen’s face as he ate and listened intently. “She was meant to carry up to six pups at once, but she suffered a condition that prevented that from being the case. She conceived six, but only Noctis survived. The other five were stillborn.”

“I-I’m s-s-so s-sorry, S-Sir,” Prompto empathized, remembering the closest comparison he had of the mother cat he had taken in for a time that lost her kittens. None of their sacks burst like they should have and she died of a kind of postpartum depression that made her neglect her health in her despair a couple weeks later. Prompto had mourned her for months. 

“I appreciate your empathy, but these things do happen and I’ve made my peace,” Regis softly smiled. “To get back to happier things, your father has told me that you’re a photographer. What do you like to take pictures of?”

“P-people g-g-going a-about th-their l-lives,” Prompto answered, beaming as he thought of the beautiful pictures he took of the families by the lake. “M-my i-instructor s-s-said th-the p-pictures h-have a k-kind o-of w-wonderlust.”

“I think I should like to see some of your photographs sometime,” Regis stated, liking the thought of getting a taste of what everyday life was like for his people. “I don’t get out much if you can believe it.”

The conversation continued as Regis encouraged Prompto to talk about his passions- mainly photography and rehabilitating animals. Clarus would add in his thoughts or comments and Cor as well as Nyx had plenty of praise for the teen. Eventually, they got around to talking about Ignis and his hobby of dabbling in the culinary arts. Gladio was happy to sing praises of his favorite Omega and even made a playful jab that said Omega had yet to beat the comfort level of the good old Cup o’ Noodles. There was plenty of sass from Ignis upon that remark. Overall, it was a much more pleasant and relaxed dinner than Prompto had expected for eating with such highly ranked people. It was much more casual than he might’ve guessed dinner with the royal family would be.

“I suppose now that dessert is done, which was delightful, Ignis, thank you,” Regis concluded with a fond look towards the Omega. “We should ready ourselves to retire for the evening.”

“Your Majesty, we still have some briefing to disclose with you before you retire,” Nyx gently reminded him. 

“Yes, of course,” Regis acknowledged. “Off to bed with the pups then and we shall convene after.”

“Speaking of, Gladio and Ignis, you two will stay with Prompto until I retire from my audience with King Regis,” Cor spoke up, meeting the eyes of the two Glaives. “Gladio, Libertus will meet you in the courtyard for your punishment before you retire this evening.”

“Punishment? Gladiolus, explain yourself,” Clarus demanded, looking to his embarrassed son. 

“I eavesdropped on the Marshal’s conversation with the King earlier today,” Gladio confessed, bowing his head in shame. 

“You’re lucky the Marshal dictates your punishment,” Clarus commented with a shake of his head, discarding his napkin on his empty plate. “You know how I feel about you letting your rank and position get to your head. It is unbecoming for a Shield to behave this way. Your job is to protect and advise when you are part of the conversation, not to snoop and insert yourself into others’ business.”

“Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir,” Gladio responded. 

“Bet we don’t look so bad now, huh, Little Alpha?” Nyx prodded, enjoying seeing the stubborn youth taken down a notch. 

“Nyx, I believe he’s been properly chastised between Clarus and Cor,” Regis pointed out, humbling the Glaive a bit. 

Nyx bowed his head, “Apologies, Your Majesty.”

“Accepted. Please see to it that Cor and the pups get settled,” Regis instructed, rising from his seat. “Clarus and I will await you two in the study in the east wing.”

Nyx escorted Cor, Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio back to Prompto’s impromptu quarters. None of them spoke as they walked, just listened to their own footsteps and that of Regis and Clarus until the latter pair broke off in the opposite direction. Prompto opened the door to find Umbra poking his head out of the carrier and whimpering.

“U-U-Umbra!” Prompto worriedly called as he rushed to the dog’s side. “I-I’m s-s-sorry y-you’re h-hurt…”

“There’s some painkillers and paperwork in the nightstand for him,” Nyx spoke up. “Libertus stopped in to feed him while we were eating so he should be able to keep them down.”

Prompto nodded, ignoring the watchful eyes of the younger Glaives as he hurriedly retrieved the painkillers from the nightstand. He felt his Dad press against him for comfort and his nerves ease up. The teen knew animals weren’t fond of pills so he’d have to do it the hard way… Taking a deep breath as he took a pill from the bottle, he gave Umbra a sorrowful look. The dog simply laid his head in the blonde’s lap as if to say ‘do what you have to, just make it better.’ With practiced gentleness and certainty, Prompto forced Umbra’s jaw open and used two fingers to gently slip the pill towards the back of his mouth. He released the dog’s jaw and massaged his throat in an encouragement to swallow. Once the blonde was certain the pill had gone down, he buried his face in Umbra’s fur and murmured praises to him. 

“Alright, Sweet Pea, let him rest and go snuggle up with Clera,” Cor coaxed, nudging his son to emphasize his instruction.

Prompto sighed but did as he was told. Dad tucked him in with a kiss to his forehead and one for Clera upon the pup’s insistence. Papa Nyx followed suit and the two moved to the door.

“He won’t be asleep for awhile so keep him comfortable and safe,” Cor commanded, looking between Ignis and Gladio. “You can talk, listen to music or watch movies. You may cuddle if he allows it. The only movies he is allowed to watch is Disney movies with minimal violence. His favorites are Up and Inside Out. If for any reason-”

“Okay, I think they get,” Nyx interjected, guiding the Royal Advisor out of the bedroom as he noticed the teen sliding further under the covers out of sheer embarrassment. “Remember his rules, we’ll be down the hall. I will end your careers if you so much as make that precious little pup even think about being upset.”

“Remember our agreement,” Cor called before Nyx closed the door with an exaggerated eye roll.

Prompto sighed and sat up in bed, letting a small smile onto his face as Clera climbed into his lap. 

“Fascinating,” Ignis commented, blushing when he realized he’d spoken his thought. 

“S-she’s a r-r-real c-carbuncle,” Prompto supplied, having the urge to befriend the older Omega. 

“May I come closer?” Ignis requested, remembering the Marshal’s rule about letting the pup set the boundaries. 

“Y-yeah,” Prompto softly smiled, shifting over on the bed to allow room for the Omega. “S-she h-has a-an a-a-attitude b-but sh-she’s r-really s-s-sweet.”

“I see she was hurt. Did you bandage her up?” Ignis inquired, genuinely curious as he joined the teen on the bed. He shot a pleading look to the young Alpha as he heard him huff an irritated sigh. 

“He should’ve let nature take its course,” Gladio voiced, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Alpha!” Ignis scolded. They were just told to be nice to the pup and he was already making the poor thing cry.

“W-why a-are y-y-you s-so m-mean?!” Prompto sniffled, trying to rein in his emotions as Clera growled at the Shield. 

“Please forgive my Alpha if you can,” Ignis sighed, rubbing the teen’s back and delighting in the boy’s desire for the touch to continue. “The royal family doesn’t have a very positive view on carbuncles, I’m afraid…”

“W-w-why?” Prompto pressed, uncertain how people who’d never met one could hate them all. 

“Well, that would require me to tell you the story of the Prince,” Ignis elaborated, settling in to tell the story. “Would it be alright if we cuddle?”

“P-p-please?” Prompto blushed as he looked to the Omega beside him. 

He shot an agitated and hurt look towards Gladio as the Alpha barely stopped a growl. There weren’t any visible bite marks to say the Gladio had claimed Ignis so why should he have such a problem with this? Prompto literally did nothing to the Alpha to deserve the treatment he was receiving. Prompto held Clera while he rolled onto his left side and threw an arm and a leg over Ignis, settling Clera on the Omega’s chest. 

“The Alphas of the Lucis Caelum line have been drawn to females of the House Fleuret since the dawn of Lucis,” Ignis began. “King Regis was certainly no exception and fell in love with the eldest daughter of the Fleurets, who was Lady Lunafreya’s aunt. Now that you know a little bit of history, we can tell their story. Many years ago, the Fleurets had a very small litter of two pups. The eldest was a girl named Galiana Nox Fleuret. Her name was well earned as it translates to calm healer. She was the first to hit puberty between her and her sister, which was a sign that she was ready to take on her duties as Oracle at the young age of thirteen since both were born with the mark of the Oracle. She performed the ceremony to gain her healing abilities, but the recovery was twice as long and painful as it should have been. 

“Despite the warnings and concerns that her family voiced, Lady Galiana was determined to heal her people. So she took to the road with trusted company and began her trek to heal the people. It was on her first trip across Eos to heal the people that Lady Galiana caught a whiff of his scent, the Scent of King Regis. He had crossed her path on the way to his father’s burial as the former King had recently passed of an illness. She sensed the pain within him and sought to heal him. Lady Galiana was granted an audience and when she approached King Regis, it was there. The scent of mate. Their courtship was a short one, only seven months, but it was every bit as regal and passionate as the former courtships between the Kings and Oracles of the past. From there, they were wed which lead to their blood-bonding. They began trying for pups between her trips across Eos. It is theorized that the burdens she took on in her quest to fulfill her divine purpose is what caused her to struggle with breeding. Finally, after a few years of trying, they succeeded in conceiving their first and only litter. 

“The Queen fell ill during her pregnancy, which caused some difficulties with the pups’ development. She was also quite stubborn and refused to step down from her duties even though her younger sister had borne the next Oracle in the bloodline. Upon a closer look, it was discovered that the pups of the Oracle have a very high mortality rate.”

“W-what d-does th-that m-m-mean?” Prompto questioned, looking up at Ignis as the Omega ran his fingers through his damp hair. 

“It means they’re more likely to die and a lot sooner than they should,” Gladio spoke up, perching on the end of the bed near his Omega’s feet. 

“That is correct. With that in mind, it was highly unlikely that any more than two per litter would survive,” Ignis continued. “Prince Noctis was their miracle pup. There were several complications with his birth and after. He was the last pup of six to leave his mother’s womb which meant that he nearly suffocated. The process of removing stillborns is delicate and time consuming. Furthermore, he had nearly been strangled by his own umbilical cord in his panicked attempts to escape the womb. Given the developmental delays during the pregnancy, the doctors had said that Prince Noctis would likely be a paraplegic from birth as he was underdeveloped from the waist down. 

“Sadly, Queen Galiana did not fare much better. She was weak following the c-section and caught yet another illness after returning home earlier than advised. Some say that she knew her time was coming to a close since her sister had birthed the next Oracle years earlier and wished to die in the comfort of her own home. She was too weak to fight off the infection and perished, but not before using the last of her healing gift bestowed upon her by the carbuncle to heal her son. After much coddling and physical therapy, Prince Noctis was able to crawl and, later, walk and even gained control over his bladder and bowels.”

“I-if sh-she h-h-healed h-him, w-why i-is h-he in a w-w-wheelchair n-now?” Prompto asked, confused by the story. 

“The story’s not over yet,” Gladio answered for the Omega. 

“Unfortunately, it is not,” Ignis confirmed,nuzzling closer to the teen. “When Prince Noctis was eight years old, he was traveling home with his father from a diplomacy dinner. The Empire unleashed a Marilith upon them and she attacked the car. In all the fighting and wreckage, Prince Noctis was once more crippled. He sustained a blow to the head as well that left him unconscious for a couple of days. During that time, King Regis acquired a carbuncle totem which he had heard legends say was the only way to summon a carbuncle to plead for its aid.”

“We kept that stupid totem by him every moment for over a year before we gave up,” Gladio picked up, a bitterness in his tone and pain in his features. “We never saw a single fucking carbuncle for even a second. So you’ll have to forgive us if our preference is a dead carbuncle over a live one. The damn thing has the power to raise the dead according to legend and it couldn’t be bothered to undo the damage that never should have been done in the first place.”

“Cl-Clera h-had n-n-nothing to d-do w-with th-that,” Prompto quietly disagreed. 

“How can you be so sure?” Gladio challenged, staring him down. “How old is she?”

“I-I-I d-don’t kn-know,” Prompto conceded, looking to Clera as if she might answer. Her ears were flat, head down, tail tucked, and seemed to refuse to look at him. She was older than he suspected if her body language meant anything. The carbuncle whimpered and closed her eyes. “Cl-Clera… y-you c-c-could’ve h-healed h-him?”

Clera still wouldn’t look at him. In fact, she carefully descended from the bed and curled up inside the carrier with Umbra. The tiny creature had a very guilty conscience. 

“No carbuncle that refuses a little boy’s pleas for help deserves to live,” Gladio spat, rising from the bed and making for the door. 

“Alpha, wait!” Ignis pleaded, sighing as he watched his friend leave. “I apologize for his harsh statements, Prompto. He is actually very kind but he has very hard opinions on some things and I’ve yet to figure out how to change his mind.”

“N-n-no, Cl-Clera w-was w-w-wrong t-to i-ignore h-him,” Prompto sniffled, the tears coming faster. 

“You don’t actually believe she deserves death, though, do you?” Ignis challenged, concerned for the easily swayed pup in his arms. 

“N-n-no!!! N-n-never!!! I-I l-l-love h-her,” Prompto insisted through shaky breaths. “B-b-but sh-she sh-sh-should’ve h-helped h-him…”

“But what if she had a destiny to fulfill?” Ignis prompted, resituating Prompto to be able to scent him if the teen desired. He was ecstatic when the blonde accepted his offer of comfort. Gladio had claimed that his blend of juniper leaves, dewy musk, blue jasmine, green apple, and fresh woods with a touch of coriander was one of the most intoxicating and inviting scents he’d ever smelled. “What if her purpose involved waiting to heal him if at all? What if he was meant to be crippled and his mother had defied the Astrals by healing him?”

That line of thought was more than Prompto could handle. What was the purpose of crippling the Prince? What good did that do in the grand scheme of things? To think, the Prince almost lived the normal life of a royal despite the loss of his mother and then have it ripped away and for what? Divine Purpose? What purpose could he serve if he couldn’t fight for his people like the past kings? Was he to be an example? What kind of example were they trying to send?

“Oh dear,” Ignis fretted, frowning as he caught the hints of confusion and panic in the blonde’s inviting spring day scent. “I do believe that concludes our story time for this evening…”

“I-I-it’s n-not f-f-fair,” Prompto whimpered as Ignis rose from the bed and hoisted the skinny teen into his arms. 

“What isn’t fair, Little One?” Ignis wondered aloud as he started a steady stroll around the room as he had seen the Royal Advisor do at the veterinary office.

“P-p-prince a-and m-m-me,” Prompto sniffled, the tears coming back again. “W-w-why d-do th-the A-A-Astrals th-think w-w-we d-deserve t-to s-s-suffer?”

“The Six have not always been the kindest to mankind,” Ignis qualified, rubbing the teen’s back as they continued to stroll about the room. “But often their interferences have resulted in a better outcome than mankind would have created for themselves without the meddling of the Astrals. Perhaps your disabilities were meant to draw you to one another? Consider that your disabilities stem from mental and emotional difficulties while his are physical. Together, you two would make a whole and very compassionate being.”

Prompto let the Omega’s musings sink in. He had always felt a desire to get to know the Prince with no real understanding or reasoning as to why… Could he really be fated to aid such a perfect being in his life’s journey? The tears seemed to slow as hope started lighten his heavy thoughts. Maybe they could help each other? Maybe they really could be friends?

“Poor little Omega,” Ignis hummed, watching the teen’s tired eyes droop. “Perhaps tomorrow you can share your story with me, but for tonight, I think we should redirect our thoughts to happier things. How about you introduce me to Inside Out, hmm? Daddy said that was one of your favorites and I have yet to watch it.”

“Y-yes, p-p-please,” Prompto pleaded with hopeful blue eyes turned on the older Omega. 

“Has anyone ever told you no before?” Ignis teased as he retrieved the remotes from the entertainment stand. Prompto shyly smiled and nuzzled against the older Omega’s neck. “I’ll take that as a no.”

Ignis chuckled as he tucked the blonde into bed, hushing the pup’s whimpers as he walked around to the other side. They were missing a companion and Ignis had a feeling it would help both the tiny creature and the pup to have time to cuddle. The older Omega retrieved the sorry carbuncle and carried her to the other side of the bed. Climbing in, he found a comfortable position before allowing the blonde to snuggle up to him like before and placing Clera in the crook of Prompto’s arm. 

“S-s-sorry, Cl-Clera,” Prompto sorrowfully apologized. Clera whimpered and licked the tear stains from his face, carefully headbutting him and rubbing her scent on him. 

“Alright, I think that’s enough emotional roller coaster rides,” Ignis lightly joked as he turned on the television and searched for the movie. 

It only took a moment to find it. Ignis pressed play and began to administer soothing touches. One arm around the pup to rub his back every now and again and the other toying with and brushing the soft blonde locks here and there. He smiled as he heard the pup sigh in contentment. Ignis let his thoughts run away as he wondered if he would be allowed to mate with Gladiolus… Maybe they would have a chance to settle down and have pups of their own…? Ignis certainly wouldn’t mind having one like Prompto. The boy was so pure and sweet. His disabilities were upsetting but they were also endearing and made the teen who he was today. As he peered down at said boy, he chuckled as he caught sight of blue eyes gazing up at him before quickly flicking back to the screen as his cheeks tinted pink. What a precious pup…

“ _Don't look so shocked. Don't judge so harsh. You don't know, You are only spying… Everyone knows it's going to hurt. But at least we'll get hurt trying…”_

Gladio paced outside the bedroom in an attempt to calm himself down. That stupid magical asshole had been with the Marshal’s handicapped kid all this time! What’s worse is that it didn’t even heal the kid! All Gladio had learned in that exchange was that carbuncles were prideful, self righteous assholes that didn’t care who was suffering. The blonde seemed to be able to tell what the little creature was getting at and his reaction was confirmation that the carbuncle had been alive and well when they had attempted to appeal to it for help in healing Noctis. The thing might as well have spoken and said it didn’t do it’s one job.

The Shield sighed and rubbed at his face. He didn’t think he could go back in there… He already made the kid cry and he wasn’t sure he was in a place to go back in and control himself. Iggy was such a saint for all that he did and as forgiving as he was… Gladio knew that holding this grudge over the Prince’s injuries was unhealthy and pointless- there are only ever four carbuncles in existence at once and they were all being hunted as they tried to journey to Tenebrae from wherever they were dropped. Too many people knew that its horn was made of ruby and its blood supposedly held the healing magic they coveted. He remembered that the Oracles had once shared the process of accepting the role as Oracle. Many spent their lives trying to ignore or overcome the trauma of what they had to do to accept their station. It was a gruesome ritual, but it always gave the desired results. The carbuncles were on a suicide mission from everything he’d been told, which was terrible, but at the same time, he felt the little bastards deserved their fate.

“Six, forgive me,” Gladio sighed, looking to the ceiling. “I know there’s supposed to be some divine plan for each King of Lucis, but I just don’t understand why my King’s destiny requires him to remain handicapped if that’s truly your will. Why must he suffer more than he already has? He’s already an Omega that likely can’t reproduce… Why torture him further?”

He waited for what felt like an hour, somehow thinking there would be some inscription of an answer on the ceiling or some indication that he was allowed any sort of answer. Gladio huffed a laugh of disbelief at himself. What was he thinking? Mortals don’t commune with Gods. Only the Oracle knew their tongue and could speak back when permitted. The Shield shook his head and looked towards the east wing. It was probably best that he face his punishment and retire for the evening, but he would have to request as much from the Marshal. There would likely be an added penalty for stepping down from an order to accompany and protect the handicapped pup, but it was better than losing his situation for belittling or outright harming the ridiculous little thing. 

With that decided, he started down the hall towards the study in the east wing where the King had stated they’d commune before they went to bed. The lights of the hall were dimmed for the evening. Most of the staff was in bed so they’d be rested for an early morning the next day. The Glaives and guards would be rotating soon in order to keep fresh eyes on the lookout for any more trouble. Gladio still didn’t understand what happened the night Noctis was taken… 

They had been in the palace, in his room on the second story… No one should have been able to enter. Ignis and Gladio had helped the Prince into his usual sleepwear and situated him on his side with the support pillows strategically placed just like every other night. The guard and Glaive rotations had been changed in an attempt to make things less predictable in light of the kidnappings. There weren’t any new hires so far as he was aware so it wouldn’t be that they hired a traitor. 

Gladio paused as he entered the hall to the east wing. One of the Glaives or guards was a traitor. There was no way otherwise. Gladio had even consumed some absolutely vile concoction that Ignis had created to keep them alert during their shifts to guard his room. He had been so alert that the smallest, softest sounds had him double-checking every point of entry near the Prince. So then how in Ifrit’s Pit did the kidnappers get Noctis? He thought a bit harder about the gap in his memory. Everyone claimed that he must’ve simply fell asleep, but he would never endanger the Prince like that. Gladio loved the kid as if he were part of his own litter. As he thought harder, he recalled an awful stench that he had investigated. He had just left Noctis’ room after hearing the kid knock his phone off the bed to find that pungent smell attacking his olfactory receptors. It had to have been some sort of chloroform or sleeping gas… He wasn’t sure anyone else had followed this same line of thought and felt a surge of urgency to gain an audience with the Marshal and the King. They needed to know that someone among them was not who they claimed to be and was helping the very force they were hunting.

“Astrals, help me,” Gladio breathed as he set forth again with a bit more speed. “There is a traitor among us that will destroy your Chosen Bloodline. They have to listen or we’ll be the next Solheim.”

Gladiolus had some difficulty remembering where the study was. The palace a grand, sprawling monster of a building and it was all too easy to get turned around with the repeating architecture and branching pathways, both hidden and clear as day. He counted himself lucky as he heard the Marshal’s voice rise. Never had he greeted the sound with relief before. He paused beside the partially open door. There was a whole lot of tension in that room…

“Cor, we cannot risk this happening again,” Regis reasoned, wariness and exhaustion in his tone.

“What exactly are you suggesting, Regis?” Cor demanded, his eyes practically dissecting the man.

“Exactly what we discussed sixteen years ago,” Regis responded. “If he cannot maintain his rank, the procedure must be done. Prompto is already damaged and unlikely to ever be capable of mating, let alone breeding. There’s a reason you’ve delayed his pubescent physical. You are terrified to discover that he is incapable of living out his life as an Omega.”

“I wonder who instilled that fear into him?!” Nyx interjected, outrage and frustration in his voice. “You might as well sentence my godson to death. That procedure has never succeeded! Every Shifter subjected to it has either gone mad, become numb, killed themselves, or died post-procedure. What the fuck are we even supposed to tell him?! Sorry, Pup, the King thinks you might become a feral psychopath and burn the Crown City so we’re basically gonna give you the world’s most damning lobotomy but don’t worry the psych wards will take good care of you!”

“Stand down, Ulric,” Clarus warned, a dangerous note to his voice. “Just because we are all friends and comrades does not mean that you can speak to Regis with such disrespect or contempt. He is still your King at the end of the day.”

“I don’t wish this procedure on anyone,” Regis defended in a gentle, tired voice. “But what kind of life is he to live if he can never tell where he stands? One day, he’s a Lucian Omega and the next a Niflheim Alpha… The two are so dissimilar that it alone may drive him mad. The Alphas of Niflheim are dangerous and inconsistent to an extent on a good day and you want me to look past his true nature after telling me that he experienced a full Alpha episode? Think of his well-being and that of the people around him.”

“What are you saying, Regis…?” Cor pressed, hesitation and worry present.

“What if he finds a mate, a Lucian or Accordian Alpha, and they are innocently touch-bonding, but then the Alpha in him rears its head,” Regis painted for him. “Regardless of the Alpha, there is the burning need to be the dominant one and Niflheim Alphas are especially guilty of invoking fights for dominance when the mood strikes them or they feel stifled. Lucian Alphas are much more subtle and gentle in their dominance. His hypothetical mate could be harmed or even killed. What if he were to spend time with an Omega or Beta? Neither of which will stand up for themselves when faced with an Alpha nor would they last very long against a Niflheim Alpha… Do you understand the point that I am making, Cor?”

“We did this to him, Regis…” Cor reminded the wary ruler. “He’s only waging this war, only this compromised mentally, because we forced this on him in a moment of rash fear. We thought his ranking was delayed, assumed his scent was broken, and we assumed it before his mark could even fully manifest. We poisoned him with Omega injections when he was an Alpha. We could have just given him relaxers and scheduled Lucian Alpha therapies as he grew to help him decide the type of Alpha he was. You look at my pup and tell me that my Sunbeam deserves to be tortured and torn apart more than we’ve already done.”

“I suggest you take a long, hard look at him before you answer,” Nyx suggested with a warning in his tone. “Because your answer may cost you your best Glaives and your Marshal.”

There was a painful silence before King Regis spoke again, “What have you told him of his condition?”

“All we told him is that he was delayed in development and born with some difficulties,” Cor answered, the shame and despair heavy in his voice as he spoke much quieter. “We told him that what lie on his wrist was what his abusive parents tattooed onto him. He has no idea that the mark of the Alpha isn’t a tattoo like the barcode… He touches up his given Omega mark with a stick and poke kit at home on the premise that his constantly fading mark is also a condition of developmental issues.”

“Nyx, is all of that true? Have you been telling him anything different?” Clarus challenged as he recognized the uncertainty on Regis’ face.

“Yes. We’ve never told him where he came from,” Nyx confirmed in a much more somber and quiet voice than before. “His first baby picture as far as he’s aware is one of his first day home with Cor. Prompto believes that Cor adopted him after he was taken from his abusive parents.”

“But does he know that he was born in Niflheim? Is he aware that he is a descendent of Niflheim blood?” Regis prodded, that edge of worry and fatigue returning.

“No, he doesn’t,” Cor responded. “I told him that the adoption agency wouldn’t disclose where his parents hailed from. All he knows is that they weren’t from Lucis.”

“After considering your words and what we know so far,” Regis drew out. “I have decided that we will simply keep an eye on Prompto for now. He must be monitored at all times. You will see if there are any other medications that may be able to stifle the Alpha in him. If there is another flare up and the medication doesn’t work or never existed, he will undergo the procedure or he will be put down. He is still not allowed to know of his origins since there is no guarantee what his response may be now that he has had this episode.”

“Understood, Your Majesty,” Cor submitted, sounding more miserable than the young Shield had ever heard.

“What about the two scentless bodies in the cellar?” Nyx piped up. “We still have no real idea where they came from or why Prompto was their next target. There weren’t any orders or comms on them to figure out their origins. Their uniforms were missing any form of identifiers whether ranking or alignment.”

“I believe it is safe to assume that Niflheim has come for their petty vengeance,” Regis concluded. “They’re still enraged that we stole one of theirs and now they’re stealing ours. I believe it was not their intent to corner Prompto. That was a coincidence. They want us to scale a full blown war. They know of the attack at the time of Noctis’ conception and they want to force me to burn out using the Crystal to fight them. They took my pup to prevent another bearer of the ring from sealing the city off and to blackmail me. The Crown City or his life.”

“We can rebuild the city, but we can’t resurrect your pup, Regis,” Cor reminded him. “They don’t want to harm our people. They just want to be able to say they’ve claimed all the provinces for themselves. No one will hold it against you if you sacrifice your station to save your son.”

“Oh, but they will, Cor,” Regis negated. “The people will be forced to live by Niflheim rule and practice their customs. They will not take kindly to their blessed King sacrificing their homes and lives for the selfish act of saving his kin. You seem to forget that this city the last beacon of hope for those that have been forced to merge with the Empire. If we fall, we have failed Eos as a whole and the punishment for failing the covenant with the Six may result in a massive reset, just like the fall of Solheim. The Infernian was the only one scorned then, but if we fall now, they will all rain destruction down on us.”

“He’s right, Cor,” Nyx agreed. “The people of Leide, of Galahd, my people, have known the suffering in the face of Niflheim’s rage descending upon us. Regis and Noctis will be executed by the people if the Crown City falls.”

Gladio felt his heart racing. The pup snuggled up to his Omega was a Niflheim Alpha?! An unbalanced one, at that! This whole war on Insomnia may actually be his fault even… If Niflheim really was behind this, they needed to know that the Empire already had spies in their midst and tricks up their sleeves. Taking a shaky, deep breath, the young Alpha steadied himself. He knocked on the door with three solid thuds and waited.

“You may enter,” Regis permitted.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Gladio spoke up, neutralizing his scent. “I initially came to request an early retirement and to face my punishment. I thought it best to step away since I wasn’t sure I could obey the rules of watching the pup…”

“I sense there’s a different purpose that arose,” Clarus stated, sniffing the air to find his son a little too devoid of emotional emissions.

“Yes, Sir,” Gladio admitted. “I was mulling over the night the Prince disappeared and I was able to recover a portion of my memory from before they snuck off with him.”

“Go on,” Regis insisted.

“I couldn’t have dozed off that night because Iggy had been making remedy to fight exhaustion that also heightens the senses,” Gladio elaborated. “I was so alert that I could hear when Prince Noctis shifted in bed and I routinely checked all points of entry to his room, especially whenever the noise came from in the room. Moments before I was unconscious, I had heard his phone hit the floor. I went in to see if he was awake and needed anything. He was still asleep, but he had shifted and caused the device to fall. I checked all the windows and the door to his adjoining bathroom before returning to my post outside his room. When I stepped out, I was assaulted with a pungent odor. The more I attempted to figure out what it was, the more I faded. I remember faintly hearing footsteps around the time that I collapsed.”

“What are you suggesting, Gladiolus?” Cor prodded.

“There is at least one traitor among in our midst,” Gladio illuminated, looking between the four men in the room. “The guard patterns had just been changed up and the Glaives were doubled and yet there was no struggle or hint that something was awry until I was knocked out. The only way that someone can navigate the palace undetected is if they know the passages and have access. Only Glaives and guards have the capability to open those passages and know where they lead. How else would the kidnappers have maintained that level of stealth?”

Regis looked between his companions before turning back to the young Glaive, “That is certainly vital information and a very serious accusation.”

“I would never accuse our people of treachery without cause, Your Majesty,” Gladio reassured the royal.

“I believe you. Your father didn’t raise a liar,” Regis accepted. “Until we can figure out a safe way to identify any possible traitors and deal with them without alerting whoever they are working with, this information stays between the five of us. Anything that has been said in this room this evening, shall never leave this room. Failure to comply will be treated as treason.”

“What about Ignis, Your Majesty?” Gladio questioned. “If he is to be watching the pup, who may still be a target, shouldn’t he be aware that the perpetrator could be among us?”

“You make an excellent point, Gladiolus,” Regis conceded. “Ignis is the only other person that may know of this discussion. It is only for his and Prompto’s safety. The same consequences apply to him as they do to the rest of us in this room should loose lips threaten to condemn us all. Be sure to convey the consequences to your counterpart when you share this information with him.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Gladiolus agreed.

“You are dismissed. If you wish to retire after informing Ignis of this discovery, see Libertus for your punishment and rest up for tomorrow,” Clarus instructed. “In the Prince’s absence and with the target painted on the Marshal’s pup, you and Ignis will be temporarily reassigned to Prompto.”

“Understood, Sir,” Gladio submitted, bowing before taking his leave.

The room was silent even after he left. He was certain they would be occupied for awhile while they attempted to make plans to determine who the traitors might be. That was good. Gladio fully intended to use this time to get back to the room and inform his Omega of everything he heard. Of course, he would share the news of a possible traitor, but the knowledge of the pup was much more pressing. He was definitely operating on the technicality that the King had permitted Ignis to be annexed into this exclusive group with such highly classified information. It was dangerous for him to even mention any of this to Ignis after the threat from the Marshal at the vet’s office. Ignis would certainly give it to him for eavesdropping after all that…

Back in the bedroom, Prompto whined as Ignis paused the movie and slipped out of bed. They had been cuddling and enjoying the children’s film for the past hour or so. There wasn’t much left of it if Ignis was mapping the plot correctly, but he needed to pee and there was a pause button. Ignis pressed a kiss to the teen’s forehead and ran a hand through the tousled blonde locks with a warm smile.

“I will be right back, Little One,” Ignis assured him. “Unless you want to accompany me to the restroom?”

Prompto blushed and shook his head. As much as he craved to be near and accepted by the Omega, that was a bit much. Well, a bit much when they just barely got to know one another. He felt warm and fuzzy as Ignis stroked his hair once more before departing to the attached bathroom. The blonde looked down as Clera perked up with a knowing look and high pitched yip. She seemed to know that he was developing a fairly thorough crush on the older Omega. This was dangerous territory for multiple reasons. The most terrifying being that Gladio may just kill him if the knowledge of his affections got out. Prompto jumped as the bedroom door opened and shrank back when he saw it the very Alpha he was worried about pissing off. Gladio eyed the pup, discomfort edging at his scent. It was hard to believe an overgrown pup with tear stains and puffy eyes was so dangerous… Then again, that same pup shot and killed two attackers with the precision of the Marshal. If the young Alpha hadn’t known what he did about Prompto being ‘adopted,’ it would have been easy to attribute a lot of things to him being the Marshal’s pup. Before he could question where Ignis was, he heard the toilet flush and the faucet of the sink coming from the bathroom. Ignis emerged to a very tense atmosphere as Gladio finally closed the bedroom door.

“Welcome back, Alpha,” Ignis greeted as the two scented each other. “I’m afraid Inside Out will be spoiled for you since you were absent for the majority of it. I’m sure we’ll pick another to watch so that you can experience it with us. This one was very sweet. We’ve certainly been missing out by not watching kids movies.”

“Actually, I just came to update you before I complete my punishment and retire for the night,” Gladio corrected, resting his hands on the dirty blonde’s hips while the Omega’s rested on his biceps. “We should probably chat in private so we don’t freak out the runt.”

“The _pup_ ,” Ignis corrected with a stern looking before turning towards said pup. “Why don’t you take a restroom break, Little One? That way we won’t have to pause the second movie.”

Prompto looked anxiously between the two. He rose from the bed, setting Clera down, and paused as he reached the foot of the bed. There was no way in hell he wanted to get in reaching distance of the Alpha. Ignis seemed to understand his hesitation as he broke away from the Alpha and approached the teen.

“You’ll be alright,” Ignis reassured the blonde as he picked him up. “He’s just an overstuffed teddy bear. He’s not going to do anything to you.”

Prompto whimpered as they passed Gladio, receiving a kiss to temple to soothe him. Ignis set him down in the restroom and butt foreheads with the pup.

“We’ll finish the movie once you relieve yourself and wash up,” Ignis promised, caressing the boy’s jaw.

Prompto nodded with a shy smile, watching as Ignis left and closed the door.

“Alright, what’s all this then?” Ignis inquired as Gladio dragged him to the other side of the room.

“Just listen and let me finish what I have to tell you. I know you won’t like it, but you need to know,” Gladio forewarned, glancing to the door and the carbuncle on the bed. He didn’t like the way she was watching him. 

“I will hold my tongue until you finish,” Ignis consented, crossing his arms over his chest.

“That pup is not who we thought. He’s not actually the Marshal’s. He was taken from Niflheim and even more concerning is that he was born an Alpha,” Gladio fired off, a touch of anxiety invading his musky, leathery, and earthy scent. Smelling him was like being transported to Tenebrae and sitting in a classic, leather seated car after the man had spent the day working on it. It was concerning to smell the sharp edge the anxiety gave it. “Apparently, he was born without a scent like those freaks from earlier but later, after they had already been dosing him Omega injections on the assumption that’s what he’d be, they started finding out he was an Alpha. They’ve been medicating him to suppress the Alpha in him, Ignis. He’s dangerous. King Regis is considering putting him through the Shifter procedure.”

“Impossible,” Ignis shot down with skepticism. “Niflheim Alphas are notorious for their prevalent rankings and inherit aggression. He’s about as dangerous as a baby learning to walk.”

“Look, I know it’s hard to swallow, but… just be careful, okay?” Gladio insisted. “The Marshal confirmed he had an Alpha episode when the attack happened. They don’t know what else might set him off. He doesn’t even have a clue he’s from Niflheim because they fear what that would do to his already fragile state.”

“I will be careful, Gladdy. I always am, but I’m certain that even if all that’s true,” Ignis qualified, caressing the Alpha’s cheek to calm his frayed nerves. “Prompto would not harm us. After all the things he’s been taught, the love he’s received, and the medication he’s been on, he knows in his core that we are not a threat nor threatening. If he was going to have an episode and let his Alpha side show, I’m sure it would’ve happened when you spoke ill of Clera.”

“Who the fuck is Clera?” Gladio asked, shaking his head. “Nevermind, that’s not important. Just be careful and don’t underestimate him. Another thing I need to tell you is what I remember from… _That_ _night_ … I was mulling it over out in the hall when I remembered what happened before I passed out. Someone either dosed me chloroform or unleashed sleeping gas on me because I was keyed up from that energy drink you made. There was an awful smell in the air when stepped out of Noct’s room after checking the entry points. Every whiff made me feel closer to passing out. There were footsteps before I was fully under.”

“What does that mean?” Ignis pressed, certain he knew but wanted the clarification.

“There are traitors among us,” Gladio elaborated, lowering his voice even more. “The only ones who know about this are you, me, the Marshal, Commander Ulric, King Regis, and my Dad. King Regis made it very clear that we can’t talk about the possibility of traitors in case they report back to whoever is behind all this. King Regis thinks the Empire is pulling the strings, but we don’t have any evidence yet. If anyone talks and gives away that we’re onto those assholes, they’ll be punished for treason.”

“I’m assuming the others need to be told about the pup’s condition then?” Ignis assumed.

“No! Do not mention that to anyone,” Gladio negated, looking a bit frantic.

“Oh, Alpha, you didn’t…” Ignis groaned, disappointment heavy in his voice. 

“I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t just walk in while the Marshal and King Regis were arguing over the pup’s fate,” Gladio excused, giving the Omega a pleading look for understanding.

“So you thought it was better to eavesdrop? Again?” Ignis pointed out, disbelief and frustration heavy in his tone. Gladio glanced to the bathroom door as he heard the toilet flush. “Gladiolus, at the very least they will dishonorably discharge us from the Kingsglaive and turn us over to the Handler. They’ve already threatened to deafen and hunt us if we don’t learn our lesson and now you’ve perpetuated my guilt by sharing classified information that you shouldn’t have known in the first place!”

“I know, I know, I am sorry, but these are things we need to know,” Gladio insisted. “The pup’s about to come back out so we can’t talk about this anymore.”

“Fine. It’s probably best that you head to bed,” Ignis sighed, half-heartedly scenting his companion before moving closer to the bed.

Gladio closed his eyes and breathed a pained sigh. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. His Omega wasn’t supposed to be put off with him. At the same time, he understood that he’d put Ignis in a very tricky situation by telling him about the pup. It was highly unlikely that any of this would end well, especially for them. Ignis watched him exit with a soft click of the door. He could feel the phantom of a headache threatening to become a reality. Honestly, what the fuck was Gladio thinking? As soon as he heard raised voices, he should have turned right back around. The problem was that he never thought of those things in the moment. 

“I-I-Iggy?” Prompto quietly spoke, practically clinging to the open bathroom door with his hand still clutching the knob. 

“Yes, Little One?” Ignis encouraged, his nerves calming as the soft smile returned. He’d believe the pup was dangerous- dangerous towards them- when he saw it for himself.

“D-d-did I-I m-m-make h-h-him m-mad a-a-again?” Prompto worried with a soft frown.

“No, no, Pup,” Ignis dissuaded, closing the gap and lifting the teen back into his arms. “He’s just worried about everything that’s happening and he thinks I’m not taking it seriously enough.”

“O-oh,” Prompto murmured, nuzzling his face in the curvature of the Omega’s neck. “C-c-can w-we s-s-still f-finish th-the m-m-movie?”

Ignis beamed at the boy in his arms, “Of course we can. We’ll start Up after this one is over. Think you can stay awake for it?”

“Y-y-yeah,” Prompto affirmed with hefty yawn, blushing as Ignis chuckled.

“We’ll see about that,” Ignis teased, getting them settled back into bed with Clera and pressing play on the movie. They had reached the point where Joy started to despair that she wouldn’t make it back to headquarters so that the little girl Riley could be happy again. Sadness was still there in some of the happier memories and Joy realized that Sadness was just as important. Sadness helped to make way for Joy and gave a release for all the lost things in life. Ignis could see why Prompto liked the movie so much. It probably helped the pup understand his own emotions and difficulties in life.

“ _The piano is not firewood yet, But a heart can't be helped. And it gathers regret… Someday you'll wake up and feel a great pain… And you'll miss every toy you ever owned…”_

“First assignment and it’s the tiniest bit of torturing with a lot of maid duty,” The female mercenary bitched as she slipped out of her armor and grabbed the cart assigned to her.

“Would you rather be unemployed, Ms. Highwind,” Her boss interjected, jotting down notes in his journal. “Is the great but desperate Aranea Highwind above ensuring the prisoner stays alive to torture? I’m fairly certain that he’s frail enough that the filth accumulating may actually kill him.”

“I’m a mercenary, a soldier, not a fucking maid, Besithia. This wasn’t in my contract,” Aranea shot back. “Why are you so desperate to keep him alive anyway? According to you, no one’s coming for him so what’s the fucking point?”

“Adagium wishes his survival if I wish to continue to study him,” Besithia replied, uninterested in her opinions. “Why he wishes for that pathetic life form’s survival is beyond my comprehension. Additionally, the prisoner does make a fascinating subject to study. He’s the first Omega of his line to be the sole survivor and was born a paraplegic. I enjoy a challenge and dissection is a welcome and relaxing pastime. Which reminds me, do be sure to put plenty of alcohol in the incisions. It seems he’s lost control of his functions. He really should learn not to bite… I may just remove his teeth yet.”

“Holy shit… Who is he?” Aranea questioned.

“Oh, you’ll see,” Besithia dismissed. “Do make sure all skin is covered. I believe I’m very close to breaking him and should like to see if my hypothesis is correct.”

“What hypothesis?” 

“He may in fact be a suppressed Shifter,” Besithia responded. “Educate yourself, will you. It is a strain to dumb things down for all of you.”

“Prick,” Aranea breathed as she moved towards the passage to the dungeon with the rolling cart.

It was a frustrating walk down for the mercenary. The cart was bogged down with cleaning supplies and torture devices alike, not to mention the pitcher of water and the other filled with some sort of protein shake. Aranea felt nauseated by the smell of whatever was in it. After a bit, she finally reached the cell. There weren’t any bars or even windows. It was a heavy, high security door with a keypad. She punched in the code and entered backwards, pulling the cart over the bottom of the rounded door. Once the cell sealed behind her, she was shocked at what she saw when she turned around. Spread out on a mattress on the floor covered in filthy plastic sheets was the Crown Prince, Noctis Lucis Caelum. He looked fucking awful. His wrists were cuffed and chained to the floor at the corners of the mattress.There was a feeding tube in his mouth connected to a dingy looking funnel. His body was covered in scars from burns and cuts alike, incisions and stitches. His hair was starting to fall out from the looks of it- how long had it been since Besithia allowed the kid to eat?His legs looked as though they’d been repeatedly dissected with long pinstripes of scars from below his feces covered ass all the way down to his heels. There were fresh wounds stitched together and off to the side of the scars. Besithia had said that dissecting the kid was his entertainment…

“What a sick fuck,” Aranea muttered, deciding to start with the cleanup. She’d let the new wounds fester until she was forced to come again in the morning. 

Aranea worked quickly, but cautiously. She was completely covered so no skin contact was possible despite the Prince’s nudity. The smell was disgusting. There was sweat, piss, feces, and just a tinge of blood, the blood mostly from his legs and what should have been his fingernails. She couldn’t even smell the kid… She huffed a sigh as she forcibly slid the nasty plastic sheet out from under him. There was already another that was unsoiled beneath it. Clever man. Sick bastard. What was astonishing was the lack of response from the teen. Through all the rough scrubbing, shifting about, and the alcohol she wiped his wounds with, he didn’t make a sound or even twitch. Aranea hadn’t believed that Verstael was close to breaking him, but here she was staring down the evidence. He didn’t react to her presence or her manhandling- no whimpers or whines, no voluntary movement but his eyes were wide open… 

“Torture or… well, I guess food is torture when there’s a feeding tube and this sludge,” Aranea weighed aloud to herself. “I’ll feed him after. Let him work up an appetite.”

The mercenary snorted at her own commentary. Maybe she should’ve been a comedian. She had a few options for the evening. She could fuck him with the surely too large strap on, add some torn flesh to his exposed back with the scourging whip or there was the peculiar wand looking object that was still radiating heat on the circular and perforated end… Wand of mystery it was. Aranea stood by his feet and held the ‘wand’ aloft, wondering how the hell she was supposed to use it. She flicked her wrist and watched as what looked to be water flung out onto the Prince’s back.

“What the fuck…” Aranea commented as she watched the spots where the drops landed turn to burns. 

She gave it a few more experimental flicks over different parts of the body, avoiding the face as that seemed to be a part of the torture pattern. There still wasn’t a reaction from teen, no twitch or heavy, pained breathing. The mercenary shook her head. This may be a pointless endeavor. The kid was probably already broken. The psychopath upstairs was known for pushing the limits. She grabbed the scourging whip and gave a couple particularly sharp snaps, sending a sickening sound through the chamber. Still there was no reaction. The kid blinked. That was it. Araneas blew out a heavy breath. How was she supposed to get a reaction from a broke, crippled Omega? The only thing she hadn’t tried out of the devices Besithia sent with her (the others were either being replaced or sterilized, apparently) was the strap on.

“There’s no way this will phase you,” Aranea narrated as she slipped it on. “You’re such a pretty boy… I’m sure someone’s fucked you already. Unless you’re scared of sex…”

No groan, no glare, no anything. Alright, well, best to get on with it. She got onto the mattress and straddled the freshly cleaned Prince, aligning the well endowed sex toy with his ass. 

Noctis vaguely felt the warmth she was radiating. This was different… Why was she so close? The only time these sick fucks got close was when they cut him open- without anesthesia, he’d like to emphasize. Either they were out of it or they just hated him that much. His guess was the latter. He was brought back to her plans when he felt her attempting to invade his anus with latex gloved fingers. Panic arose as he felt his body reacting. Omegas were designed for breeding regardless of gender and he was no exception. As soon as she began to stimulate the right areas, he felt himself growing damp. This was too far. This was too much. He could take the cuts, the burns, the unnecessary surgeries, but what she was doing was only meant for his mate to experience and seeing as how he didn’t have one yet, no one should be invading him in such a personal way. The more progress she made in preparing him, the faster his breathing became and his weak, fatigued muscles twitched. He tried to tighten the muscles around ass and anus, tried to block her from violating him so but it was pointless. He didn’t have any strength.

“There he is, there’s the pretty little princess,” Aranea mocked in a seductive tone. This one she’d actually enjoy. She’d been abstinent so long due to a lack of desirable partners that she was damn near ready to go feral. She eased the sex toy in and lowered onto her elbows so she could hear any sounds he might make. “Don’t worry, I’ll be _very thorough_ and hopefully we’ll both get a little something out of this.”

Noctis felt the tears his body had been saving up spill over. The faintest of whimpers and sounds of general misery floated out of his throat like unwilling phantoms, only amplified by the feeding tube. She was relentless and none too gentle. Six, how he’d rather be getting cut open again… He tried to push away the thoughts, to dissociate himself, but he couldn’t quite escape. He might as well have been trudging through the marshland with a Malborough hunting him. Her smell was sickening, nearly repulsive. Her breath smelled of cigarettes and booze and melded with her scent of red wine, poison sumac, and holly berries. It was enough to make him sick even before he felt her weight and breath against his exposed, aching flesh. After a few more minutes it was overs and she eased the sex toy out of him, making some sound of satisfaction as the tears continued to fall. Just when he thought it couldn’t be worse, the woman started slowly pouring icy water down the tube forced through his throat. He barely had time to breathe before she followed it up with the revolting concoction that kept him just strong enough to keep enduring the torment they put him through. 

Once she left with some comment of returning in the morning- huh, guess it was night- he tried to go back to the comfort of his memories. He missed Ignis’ cooking and Gladio’s banter… He missed his room and those stupid pillows they wedged under him at night. He missed the useless little carbuncle totem. He even missed the ridiculously childish bedding his Dad insisted he use since it was made by his mother while she was pregnant and awaiting him. Astrals, how he missed his Dad… His chest felt as though it would collapse under the sorrow he was succumbing to. What he would give to getting picked on at school- at least he could crush their feet with his wheelchair… Of course school conjured images of the kid with the sunshine blonde hair and speech impediment. The kid was a wreck, but it was kinda cute… Noctis wished he would have spoken to the Marshal’s pup before all this. They probably would have gotten along. They could have commiserated together, shared their thoughts on their shitty classmates… That was about as much of a pipe dream as the odds of him being rescued from this place…He let the fatigue settle over him again and imagined what it would’ve been like if he’d befriended the blonde boy when they were younger, what Dad would’ve thought and how Ignis and Gladio would have interacted… What they would have done together...

“ _You'll want to go back. You'll wish you were small. Nothing can solve your crying... You'll take the clock off of your wall, And you'll wish that it was lying…”_

As promised, Ignis had stayed and watched up with Prompto. He could tell the pup had a crush by the way he beamed, blushed and snuggled closer at every opportunity. It was cute. It was during the end of the movie that the teen finally allowed sleep to overtake him. The older Omega stayed until the credits had finished, just petting the younger boy, before tucking the blonde in and taking up a post outside the bedroom door with said door cracked just in case. It was some time later that the Marshal finally joined him, but he requested the Omega’s help in gathering his things from the adjoined bedroom, where Iris had been told to place them. 

Prompto felt his pillow moving ever so slightly. It wasn’t enough to concern him, but it was to annoy him. As he rubbed at his eyes, he found that Ignis had departed. Looking around the darkened room, he saw Clera trampling his pillow. The blonde attempted to settle her but she just moved away from his hand. Before he could guess at what was bothering her, she made for the open door.

“Cl-clera! N-n-no!” Prompto called in a rather loud whisper. 

If he hadn’t been awake before, he was now. He worked to untangle himself from the sheets and got to his feet. The teen caught sight of her peering back into the bedroom, probably knowing he was going to chase her. He was not in the mood to play and this was not a fun game. Prompto pulled the door further open and darted after her as she nimbly raced down the hall away from the staircase. She stopped a couple of doors away and watched him for a moment before darting inside. He felt his anxiety bordering on panic as he worried for all the havoc she could be about to wreak, especially if it was an office… As he pivoted on the door frame and came into the room, he paused. Oh no… From the portraits and scattered polaroids around the room, there was no doubt that it was the Prince’s. The bed was disheveled with peculiar wedge pillows spread over the blankets. There were dirty clothes on the floor, which he thought was a bit odd given the standard of clean throughout the palace. Books littered the desk, stuffed animals displayed on shelves, awards on a bookshelf, there was a large closet with the door open, and a bathroom that also had an open door. He supposed the King wouldn’t want anyone in there to disturb the signs that his son had once occupied the room… What was he saying? It was still the Prince’s room and he would be back soon, hopefully…

“Cl-Clera?!” Prompto called, his eyes widening in his attempt to adapt to the sparse moonlight. “W-w-we c-can’t b-be i-in h-h-here! C-c-come o-on, Cl-Clera!”

The carbuncle yipped as she sat down on the Prince’s pillow. He darted to the bed only for her to leap off. He got up and searched for her next perch. She leapt onto the window sill and stared him down. The teen huffed and frowned at the creature, making to dash over to her but finding himself crashing to the floor as his right foot tangled in a sweatshirt his left was standing on. He sat up and roughly yanked the sweatshirt from around his feet. As Prompto pulled it up, he caught a whiff of the disabled Omega’s scent. His brain sped up, thoughts frantic and everywhere. He had the urge to sniff it again and he did. 

_FIND. SAVE. COMFORT. PROTECT. SERVE. BOND._

_MATE._

His brain screamed these words over and over as the smell of Forget-Me-Nots, black teakwood, henna powder and fresh print flooded his nose. As the reality of the situation- the Prince being missing- came back to him amongst the frenzy of his desperation to connect with his newfound mate, he found himself whimpering. The whimpers increased in volume until he was practically howling with grief and confusion as the Alpha and Omega in him warred for control to command him on what to do to recover his mate. He curled in on himself and began rocking ever so slightly back and forth. As the Omega started to win the war, he found himself inhaling the smell of the sweatshirt over and over. His stomach felt funny and his body flushed with heat. He felt as if he were sweating from the waist down, an uncomfortable dampness clinging to his lower half. It didn’t have a smell so it wasn’t piss…

A light flicked on and Prompto looked up with wide, fearful eyes to find his Dad, Ignis, and the King staring him down. Clera yipped as she descended from the window sill and perched on the bed. Dad shot her a nasty look before turning towards him with a concerned expression.

“H-h-help!” Prompto sobbed, finally breaking all the way down.

The three looked to each other with concern. Cor crossed the room and lifted the boy into his arms, still clutching the sweatshirt. He felt a mix of concern and relief flood through him at the damp feeling of the boys shorts- he certainly wasn’t infertile… Ignis crossed and collected Clera from the bed. Cor looked down at his son clinging to him and sobbing incomprehensible thoughts. What was happening to Prompto?

  
 _“Love what you have and you'll have more love… You're not dying. Everyone knows you're going to love… Though there's still no cure for crying…”_ \- Regina Spektor, “Firewood”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Cor sings to Prompto during his meltdown is “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran.


	4. Blessed Be the Shadow of a Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adagium and the mixed up no good day

“ _ Oh quiet down, I’ve had enough! I guess it’s now or never. I’ve been around, I’ve settled up. I’ll bolt soon or later. I took a photograph of me, when I was only nineteen. I looked a little lost at sea. I keep trying to find me…” _

“I see you’ve finally awoken from your slumber,” Verstael commented as his favorite subject joined him at the grand dining table. “I do hope yesterday’s tests weren’t too much for you.”

Adagium stood off to the side of the chair he normally sat in. Aranea was seated at the far end. She was turning into the madman’s favorite familiar with every order she carried out and he could feel her burning gaze wondering of his story. He still wore the oversized, simple woven shirt and pants that he had on the day he was freed from Angelgard. He hadn’t had the heart to cut his hair either as he felt it would be the same as cutting one of the few reminders he had left of his beloved Aera out of his life. As he stood and stared down the scientist who simply sat there eating and reviewing his notes, his neutral expression became one of exhaustion.

“You promised,” Adagium reminded him, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I promised what exactly, Adagium?” Verstael prompted, peering up at the God-like specimen before him.

“The boy, you swore that if you were able to retrieve him, I could spend time with him,”Adagium elaborated, his frown deepening.

“Yes, of course,” Verstael responded. “How silly of me to forget. Ms. Highwind, do escort him down to the Prince’s chamber and take a plate of food. I’m sure Adagium would prefer to feed him the proper way.”

“I’m assuming the tube returns afterward?” Aranea sighed, getting to her feet and making a plate. This maid shit was getting old fast.

“Naturally. I’d rather not give him the option of losing his teeth since someone here would level my laboratories,” Verstael affirmed, shooting a look of annoyance to his favorite subject.

“Tube? What have you done to him?” Adagium demanded, feeling his heart race as horrible images came to mind. He supposed that’s what he gets for reading all those soldier Omegas’ minds.

“He lost the privilege of using his own mouth when he dared to try and take a bite out of me,” Verstael explained, pausing as he sent a challenging look to the immortal.

“Come on, Shadow Man,” Aranea spoke up with a plate of food in hand.

“Best follow her or lose your chance to see him at all,” Verstael warned with a scowl. “Let’s not forget who freed you and gave you a haven. There is always subtext and fine print to any agreement made by an intellectual whether bound by signature or verbiage and I hold the contract to your very survival outside of Angelgard. I can send you back just as easily as I took you out. I can also kill that brat just as easily as I can save him.”

Adagium felt his face contort as concern and disgust welled up inside him. What world did he awaken to that mere mortals could truly threaten the existence of the Astrals and their heralds? 

“Take the cart with you, Ms. Highwind,” Verstael instructed as he returned to his breakfast and notes. “I’m sure the brat needs to be cleansed.”

Adagium followed the mercenary as she grumbled under her breath. Her company was undesirable but she was the only one other than Verstael that seemed to know the codes around the laboratory. He followed her in silence all the way down to the chambers that held any subjects the madman desired to study. As far as Adagium was aware, the Prince was the only one there. He watched Aranea as she blocked his view and punched in the code to the chamber, which made him roll his eyes. If he really wanted to get in or out of any place, he could regardless of Verstael’s threats.

“Well? You coming in or not?” Aranea demanded, waiting for him to pass her and enter.

“You’re the least pleasant human I’ve been near in ages, I hope you know,” Adagium commented as he stared her down and crossed the threshold.

“You won’t think so once you’ve seen your- how many generations have passed since your sorry ass was locked up?” Aranea questioned as she maneuvered the cart in before the door closed.

“I was told that over a hundred have come to pass since I was so cruelly detained,” Adagium supplied, gathering his strength to look upon the boy that would be king next. 

“Well? Aren’t you even gonna look at him?” Aranea pressed, grabbing a syringe of muscle relaxers and flicking the air out.

He shot her a nasty look and relaxed his facial muscles. He didn’t want the boy to think he had anything against him. They were more alike than the younger knew and he wanted to connect with the boy. Adagium took a deep breath and looked towards the mattress as Aranea injected the teen. He gasped when he saw the state his descendant was in. The teen was on his stomach with his head turned to the side, eyes wide open but seeming to see nothing. He didn’t react to anything, though he couldn’t be blamed when the hands that were touching him were covered in gloves.

“What have you done to him…?” Adagium interrogated as he collapsed onto the edge of the mattress and ran a hand through the dirty black hair.

“My job. I was hired to torture him, Saint Wannabe,” Aranea snapped, focusing herself as she started to slide the tube from the drugged boy’s throat. “When they recruited me, I thought I was going to be infiltrating Insomnia and taking out the defenses, not maiming and cleaning the Prince of Lucis.”

“Perhaps you should’ve looked at the fine print,” Adagium bit back, keeping his tone neutral so as not to spook the boy. “It seems we’ve both been tricked or conned into services we did not intend to fulfill.”

“You can say that again,” Aranea grumbled, fighting the urge to gag as she finally saw the end of the tube. 

‘Why isn’t he responding to my touch?” Adagium pressed as he stroked the teen’s jaw.

“Because the sick bastard we’re stuck with has been trying to break the kid since before I got here,” Aranea enlightened, walking over to the unused sink in the corner of the room to wash the tube and funnel. “He had some theory or some shit that he wanted to test. He told me to see what I could do to break him. Turns out that the kid is still a virgin and terrified of dildos.”

“Are you implying that you’ve violated my descendant?” Adagium demanded, his outrage growing. “How dare you!”

“I’m just following orders,” Aranea defended, setting the funnel and tubing on the cart and grabbing a second syringe containing a slight dose of adrenaline to counteract the muscle relaxer. “He hadn’t tried fucking him yet and sent me to do it and I have nothing left so why not?”

“Why not?! Do you wish to spend eternity being tortured at the hands of the Infernian?” Adagium argued, watching as she slowly injected the boy with the second syringe. “What are you doing to him now?”

“Just a little wake up juice since you’re so desperate to connect with your long lost family,” Aranea answered, sliding the syringe out and letting the spot bleed for a moment.

Noctis jolted on the bed, his jaw reflexively opening and closing at the recognition that it wasn’t inhibited anymore. His vision was a bit hazy and things seemed far away. There was a sensation of nearby body heat and… Skin? He was being touched?! There was a nude hand dancing through his oily, tangled hair that moved to caress the aching flesh on his back. He heard their voices but his brain still struggled to decipher the words and recall what they meant after spending so long in the safe, dark abyss he’d found after that boozy bitch violated him.

“Shhh, it’s alright,” Adagium soothed as he continued his ministrations. “This is all my fault, I’m afraid… I do apologize for your situation… I’m not as clever as I once was so I fell for the mad scientist’s offering to fix you as I wish to have been fixed…”

“Here, you can clean him up if you want,” Aranea offered, a bit put off by the Prince actually looking for faces as his eyes widened and breathing picked up. That was some adrenaline shot…

“It pains me to say this knowing what you’ve done to him prior, but thank you,” Adagium struggled, accepting the bucket of warm, soapy water with a few clean cloths hanging off the edge. “Do you know his name? Verstael claimed it was unimportant…”

“Noctis Lucis Caelum, Crown Prince of Lucis,” Aranea answered, moving to stand by the sink as she produced a cigarette and lighter from her bra. She lit one and proceeded to take a long, slow drag from it as she watched the immortal clean the broken Omega. “What’s your ranking, Adagium?”

“I was born an Omega with a Divine Purpose, though what that Purpose was escapes me,” Adagium answered, ringing the excess water from a cloth and using a gentle pressure to scrub away the dried blood on the boy’s back. “My memory is hazy despite my immortality, but I recall having a younger brother that was an Alpha. We had very different ambitions and ways of handling things. That much I do recall.”

“Why were you locked away if you were a favorite of the Astrals?” Aranea pressed, taking another puff from her cigarette.

“Because I was impure in the eyes of the Draconian,” Adagium explained, ringing out the rag and wetting it again with cleaner water. He continued to delicately scrub as he spoke. Each passing of his hand soothing the conscious youth. “That damned Crystal… It was my downfall near the end of my time as a part of history. I honestly can’t even recall my own name after spending two thousand years trying to quiet the screaming voices in my head. I think I should like to remember more of what was… Alas, those of whom know of my time have all passed. I doubt my beloved’s lineage even knows the truth of her life.” 

“I’m guessing you mean one of the Oracles of old?” Aranea offered up.

“Yes, I’m surprised you could guess that,” Adagium commented, moving to scrub the urine and feces away from the boy’s lower regions. “Oh, dear nephew, what has that madman done to you…”

Noctis shot a look to the man that was handling him so delicately. He had been so distracted and calmed by such soothing touches that he hadn’t registered the man’s words before. Was he supposed to know this person? His grandpa died before he was born according to his dad and Grandpa had no siblings, neither did his father- the curse of the Lucis Caelums as some referred to it- so how did he have an uncle that looked so young?

“I apologize, Noctis,” Adagium sighed, a sadness filling his heart as he leaned in close to rest his forehead to the boy’s. He knew it was risky given that Noctis could smash their heads together, but it would only harm the teen. “Breathe deep and know me as others have failed to.”

Noctis wasn’t sure about this, but the guy was already in his space and he was too weak to try fighting him. Besides, the incisions on his legs were aching and burning so it was best not to anger the one giving him a reprieve from his suffering. At first, the teen took a breath in and out of his mouth to calm himself. Then, he sniffed deeply and a small shock went through him. The man showing him kindness and soft touches had the same notes of fragrance as many in the line of Lucis Caelum. Each King’s scent was made into a cologne and set a top a pillar near their portrait in the Gallery of Kings back home. Dad used to play a guessing game with him to see what smells he could identify and what King that it belonged to- he claimed it was a more hands on and fun way to tell the story of their family. The most prominent notes that confirmed this man was supposed to be a Lucis Caelum were the scent of Forget-Me-Nots, Sylleblossoms, patchouli, aged amber, and lightning struck earth.

“You are in fact my nephew, though I know you have no knowledge of my existence,” Adagium quietly grieved, sitting up as a tear fell. “I knew not what I did to deserve the fate given to me nor why I should be stricken from history. It was the decision to taint and erase my place in history that resulted in your unfamiliarity with the broken down man before you.”

“Not… old…” Noctis breathed, struggling to utter the words as a faint expression of confusion came over his features. 

“No, I’m not,” Adagium humorlessly chuckled. “I am an immortal, though not by any welcome design. I ceased to age around the time of my demise.”

“What if you could know?” Aranea challenged, drawing the immortal’s attention to her. “What if you could at least remember the events that lead to your imprisonment?”

“What you’re proposing is impossible,” Adagium shot down, incredulity shifting his expression. “As I said before, no one that has any knowledge of my time is among the living anymore.”

“Verstael had a very large and important delivery the other day,” Aranea shared, putting out the cigarette bud and lighting another. She didn’t want to do this. What that psychopath upstairs had in mind was insane, but she had no choice. “He no doubt wants you to examine it when we’re done here so I suggest you hurry up.”

“His desires can wait,” Adagium disagreed, taking the cloth back in his hands and delicately tending to the stitched up incisions on the boy’s legs. “This is the first desire I’ve had that didn’t involve bloodshed in over two thousand years. I should like to take my time before I return to subjecting myself to his whims.”

“Suit yourself.” Aranea huffed, a cloud of smoke bursting forth from her dark painted lips.

“I apologize for all the dissections he’s done to you, Nephew,” Adagium murmured as he rinsed the cloth, wrung it out, and moved on to the boy’s other leg. “I had hoped he’d find a cure for your paralysis while you’re here, but so far he hasn’t noted any significant progress.”

“Who..?” Noctis struggled to project.

“He is the Royal Scientist of what I have come to know as the Empire,” Adagium elaborated, rising to his feet and assessing how he was to remove the sheet beneath the teen. 

“Here, I got it,” Aranea sighed, ditching her cigarette in the sink and approaching the mattress. She bent over and quickly yanked the sheet out from under the Prince, balling it up and tossing it in a corner of the room to be dealt with later. “There, all clean.”

“Be careful, you heathen!” Adagium snapped, returning to his spot on the mattress as Noctis hissed in pain.

“Oh, I’m  _ sooo sorry _ ,” Aranea mocked, leaning against the wall.

“How do I unchain him?” Adagium inquired with a hard tone as he glared at her. “Speak up! It’s not like the boy can run if he’s unchained!”

“Only Besithia has the keys to the cuffs,” Aranea responded, rolling her eyes. “You’ll never convince him to treat the kid any differently.”

“Then perhaps it is time we discover what I am capable of,” Adagium commented, carefully ringing out a damp rag onto Noctis’ hair and massaging the filth away. “I have made requests that are more than fair and he has failed to accept and complete them. Now, it is my turn to make the demands and threats.”

“Good luck with that,” Aranea snorted, scoffing at the thought that the scientist’s play thing was going to fight back after said scientist discovered his weaknesses.

“I will release you from this chamber and you shall be mine to care for,” Adagium hummed as he continued to cleanse the grime from his descendant.

“Home?” Noctis practically croaked the request as if it were a question he was afraid to receive an answer to.

“We shall see,” Adagium frowned. “Given my perceived infamy, I fear I may not be welcome in the Crown City and I can’t simply leave you stranded at the border. I know no one within its walls as I am essentially an ancient so I wouldn’t be able to have anyone retrieve you either.”

“Dad.” Noctis strained.

“Unfortunately, I doubt your father wants to see me again after the unholy deeds I aided in,” Adagium admitted. “The man that ordered you to be brought here had deceived me into believing that I would be able to seek out my brother in the Crown City and used me as a distraction to send his minions to destroy it.”

“Used.”

“Yes, I was used and I am ashamed at my own naivety,” Adagium confessed, running his fingers through the delicate black locks in an attempt to dispel any tangles. “You certainly do appear to be a descendant of my brother… It’s a shame you're his and not mine, your aunt would have given the pups of future generations a better chance at life… Or at least that’s what I’d like to believe.”

“Your… pups?” 

“Sadly, your aunt passed away shortly before my detainment,” Adagium remorsed, shifting to lie down on his side facing the teen and continuing to administer soothing touches. “We talked of having two litters. She was a very ambitious lady… I like to think that if you had come about from my lineage rather than my brother’s that you would’ve had a better chance in life.”

“Somnus? Mystic?”

“Mystic? Ha,” Adagium dryly chuckled. “There was nothing all that mystical about my brother, but yes, that name does sound familiar.”

“Feed the kid, we need to get going,” Aranea piped up, over all the lovey dovey bullshit.

“Are you hungry, Little One?” Adagium questioned, once again caressing the boy’s jaw. “I’ve brought breakfast.”

“Please…” Noctis murmured, his eyes tearing up at the thought that good things might be finally happening to him after… weeks? A month? How long has he been missing?

“Of course,” Adagium softly smiled, rising to his feet and looking at the boy in astonishment as a whimper escaped his chapped lips. “I will only be away for a moment. I have not departed.”

Adagium quickly gathered the plate and pitcher of water and returned to the boy’s side. He had to shift Noctis to get him into a better position but the kid could barely move his head… How was he supposed to hold himself up? After a moment, Adagium had to mentally scold himself. All he had to do was shift the teen to sit in his lap like a small pup and then feed him.

“I apologize if any of the movements I’m going to aid you in cause you unnecessary pain,” Adagium warned, rolling the teen onto his side and gently but quickly scooping him up into his own lap. He adjusted Noct to sit sideways and lean against his chest. There were a couple pained whimpers, but it was relatively painless otherwise. “There, how does that feel?”

Noctis couldn’t answer. He could feel the heavy chains pulling his wrists down and the strain in his muscles as they tried to aid the man in holding him up. But what’s more, he couldn’t get over how good it felt to be held and treated with such affections, to feel the warmth of another human being in a positive scenario. He felt the tears as his throat constricted. He wished he hadn’t told his father off for doing this very thing of holding him close. This was something to be revered, not spat on and dismissed and he had taken it for granted all these years.

“Where do these tears hail from, Little One?” Adagium questioned, rocking them side to side as he pressed a kiss to the Prince’s forehead. Oh how he would’ve loved to have had pups of his own… 

“Dad… hurt… him,” Noctis choked out.

“I am sure your father forgave you already,” Adagium reassured, shooting the mercenary a glare as she made to speak again. “I’m sure whatever occurred was nothing in the grand scheme of your bond. Your father is a good man, Noctis. I doubt he’d ever hold anything against you.”

Adagium had a thought. He shifted around so the teen was still supported and quickly removed his shirt. He grimaced at the sight of scarred flesh. He’d spent all those years trying to contain and control the evil within him in hopes that he’d be welcomed back into society and given a chance to prove that he was still a herald of the Astrals. Unfortunately, it never helped as no one ever believed him capable of change so no one ever came. The worst sight was the scar on his chest that he remembered was from being pierced by a blade towards the end. Adagium cast away the thought and repositioned the teen in his lap. Noctis was still crying, but he could smell and feel the tension leaving him as their skin touched.

“There is a song I remember learning, though I can’t recall when,” Adagium hummed, snagging a berry from the plate of food beside them and feeding it to the teen. He started and stopped his humming as he tried to recall the melody, continuing to feed his nephew whenever he was ready for another bite. “ Moving along in a pace unknown to man, Go go go go go go, Go go go go go… And you thought the lions were bad. Well they tried to kill my brothers And for every king that died, Oh they would crown another. But it's harder than you think Telling dreams from one another. And you thought the lions were bad, Well they tried to kill my brothers…”

“Dad…” Noctis hummed between bites.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he’d know the tune. Any King or would be King of Lucis knows it well, I fear,” Adagium gleaned as he fed the boy a bite of bread. He could tell chewing took a lot from the boy after all that time with the tube in his throat. “And you thought the lions were bad, Well they tried to kill my brothers. And felled in the night By the ones you think you love, They will come for you. And felled in the night By the ones you think you love, They will come for you… Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. Go go go go go go, No no no no no. And you thought the lions were bad, Well they tried to kill my brothers. And for every king that died, Oh they would crown another. And it's harder than you think Telling dreams from one another. And you thought the lions were bad, Well they tried to kill my brothers. And felled in the night By the ones you think you love, They will come for you. And felled in the night By the ones you think you love, They will come for you… Oh to see What it means to be free Of the shadows and the dreams That you claim to see…”

Adagium continued to sing the all too familiar song to the boy in his arms. He could tell the slack in Noctis’ body was more from comfort and relaxation than the weakness of his muscles and it warmed him on the inside to know that what he’d always wanted- to care for someone- was what he was able to achieve. Noctis was watching him, the teen continuing to sluggishly consume whatever food the immortal was willing to feed him. That gaze was one of trust and Adagium did not take that lightly. He would free this boy from the chamber at the very least and he would take care of him from then on. He would have to do some digging and see about conning the mercenary into aiding their escape. If she happened to perish in her aid of them, it wouldn’t be the worst thing after what she had done to this youth, his nephew…

“We shall be free, I promise you that,” Adagium murmured into the teen’s ear as he pressed a kiss to the boy’s temple.

“ _ So pray for me brother, I need redemption. I'm just a man, A man on a mission. I want no trouble! I want no trouble! I want no trouble! I want no trouble…” _

Parting from Noctis was the hardest thing Adagium had to do since he was freed from Angelgard. The boy had pleaded in his broken way for him to stay or take him with. In the end, the immortal promised he would return later to free him of that chamber as the mercenary forced him to leave. Once they were back in the dining room, Verstael insisted that Adagium eat something before they moved on. The immortal reluctantly ate a full meal and then not so patiently awaited the scientist’s plan for the day. He knew it was best to make demands after satiating his abductor’s desires. 

“I have no doubt that Aranea has informed you of my special delivery,” Verstael spoke up, sipping at his coffee. “It was quite the trip back from the Rock of Ravatogh.”

“You couldn’t possibly be suggesting what I think you are,” Adagium dismissed, a look of disbelief upon his features. 

“Why don’t you accompany me and see for yourself,” Verstael suggested as he rose from his seat, gathering both his journal and his coffee before leading the way.

Adagium looked to the mercenary with a calculating glance. She had a decent poker face, but seeing her ache to light up a cigarette told him there was something she didn’t like about what came next. He rose and followed Verstael with Aranea following closely. The trek they made almost took them back to Noctis’ chamber, but they stopped in a large room with freezing cold air. Adagium shivered as he stood there wondering what he was supposed to be looking at. He watched the Royal Scientist fiddle with a control panel and the chill eased up and the air cleared enough for them to see the platform in the room. The immortal gasped as he looked upon the giant slumbering figure before him. It was true. Verstael, the madman, took the Infernian from his resting place! 

“I hope to uncover many secrets in my studies and experiments,” Verstael commented gazing at his prize with pride. “And you can unlock over two thousand years worth of memories and peer into his very core to discover things we can’t even begin to fathom. You may even uncover the secrets of your immortality. If you can convert him, he will be a most wonderful weapon against the Crown City. Just imagine, the most pure Alpha in our realm brought to his knees and subjugated to become a malleable Omega…”

“You’ve subjugated a god?! And not just any but the wrathful Infernian?!” Adagium demanded in hushed tones as a half dozen lab grunts shuffled about and tended to the upkeep of the platform housing the God. “Are you mad or simply mentally deficient?!”

“One must be mad to risk everything for the sake of progress,” Verstael answered simply as he watched the lab grunts pausing and murmuring to each other. “Do your job or lose it! I haven’t the time for your slacking!”

Adagium looked a bit closer at the supposed grunts and noticed some oddities. The color palette of their uniforms was incorrect based off of what Aranea was forced to wear in her servitude to the mad scientist. There also seemed to be hesitation in their actions, which was so very wrong. Verstael wouldn’t enlist idiots or novices to work in his lab, especially for a project as top secret and sensitive as capturing and preserving a god’s corporeal form. 

“Say my name and do it loudly,” Adagium insisted, his eyes never leaving the grunts. 

“Why would I do that? I’ve no intention of breeding you nor do I want them believing I do,” Verstael sneered, looking over the immortal with disgust. Sure, he was powerful and the key to understanding the very things he sought to grasp and control, but he was not attractive (at least in the Royal Scientist’s eyes) nor worthy to be mated by someone like himself. He was a Niflheim Alpha with standards, thank you very much.

“Those are not your lab grunts, I can guarantee that,” Adagium informed the pissy Alpha. “Those are spies and I can almost guarantee they’ll reveal themselves to be part of the Kingsglaive. The King has sought me out ever since you used me in the attempt to break into the city which is the entire reason you now face the amplified barrier supplied by the King and the Crystal.”

Verstael considered his words before loudly calling out, “Come along, Adagium.”

Surely enough, the lab coats fell to the floor and suddenly they were surrounded by Kingsglaives. Adagium let out a sigh of annoyance. First, the Infernian is presented on a slab and could wake at any moment and then the Lucian Glaives show up for revenge when he was merely an unwitting distraction. All he wanted was to free the Prince and return to his homeland to get answers. Why must everything be so difficult?

“Spare us your speech about my release and how it may threaten Lucis and the Crown City,” Adagium cut off as one made to speak up. “I am aware of your misguided beliefs of me. You can fight me all you want but I am cursed to live until the Astrals let my soul end its journey in this world and others.”

Naturally, they didn’t believe him and the fighting commenced. Aranea struck a couple decisive blows before escorting Verstael a safe distance away as he barked orders at her. Once they were away, Adagium accessed the royal arms. It was a marvel that he even still held onto them after so long. As he readied himself for an unwanted fight, an odd thing happened… He envisioned his brother standing before him with a wicked grin. The immortal dispelled the vision and defended himself from the first strike. They kept coming after him, warping towards and away. It was more infuriating than anything else. They understood nothing and they never would.

“Return to your kingdom!” Adagium warned, knocking one of the Glaives off balance.

“I have received no such orders from my Sovereign!” She shouted as she got back to her feet.

In that moment, all he could feel was anger as he kept hearing his brother’s condescending voice and seeing visions of him as the Glaives continued to attack. He dismissed the Royal Arms and caught one of the Glaives by the throat. Before he could understand what he was doing, the Glaive began to dissolve into an acrid black smoke and absorb into him. He felt a surge of energy run through him and saw a faint flash of her memories. He felt a cut on his arm and growled at the one that inflicted it, lunging and sharing the former’s fate with the guilty party as that one also absorbed into him. This was new. He didn’t recall being able to do this before… Perhaps he was able, considering he made it so far from Angelgard on his own before Verstael retrieved him… Just as he smoked another, the mechanism keeping the Infernian on ice combusted and Adagium faintly heard the Scientist cursing in the background. The remaining four guards paused to marvel at the deity as he crawled off the platform and came to a stand. 

Adagium felt his head pulsing with pain as the Infernian spoke, ‘ _ You mortals make a mockery of a god. Such Insolence!’ _

“Do something before he brings the whole damned lab down!” Verstael demanded as the Infernian made to strike his favorite subject. 

Adagium made no move to strike the Infernian but instead continued to chase down the Glaives. He was tired of them hunting him at every given opportunity. Hopefully, disposing of them this way would get the point across that he was not the one to be hunted. Before he could go after the last two Glaives, they were burnt alive and crushed beneath the Pyreburner’s foot. He felt his anger take the backburner as he was faced with the burning god looking down upon him. Before he could decipher the god’s intention, he was grasped in one fiery hand and lifted to eye level. 

_ ‘What is a man of the House of Caelum doing here?’  _ Ifrit the Infernian questioned.

After all too short of a moment, he responded with, “O Infernian, grant me the power and your aid to cut down Somnus the way he cut me down. I want to go before the Crystal and discover my place in this world. I want retribution on those that have wronged me!”

Adagium felt his anger grow as he thought of how his brother lived the life he had always wanted- taking care of the people and creating a family. The more his anger rose, the less control he had over the madness that dwelled within him and he found the acrid black smoke spilling forth from his body and overtaking the Pyreburner. After a moment, the destructive power of that essence had the god falling to his hands and knees causing him to drop Adagium to the floor. 

“No! What have I done?!” Adagium cried as he scrambled to his knees and watched the transformation. His head screamed as the Infernian spoke once again.

‘Fool! You dare to subjugate the divine?!’

“It was not my intent, I swear upon my immortal life!” Adagium assured the burning god as he dissipated into sheer burning energy that rushed into the immortal. 

He felt a searing pain as the god seemed to fuse with him. Just as with every other that Verstael had him absorb in order to read the memories of, he saw those of Ifrit, the Infernian, and the Crystal since it was the source for the gods’ unconscious knowings. He saw an image of the Crystal with his face in it. That wasn’t possible, was it? Somnus had told the people that he himself was chosen… But in fact he was chosen over his brother? The Omega was meant to be king over the Alpha…

_ Ardyn… _

He heard the feminine voice call out and that’s when he remembered. His name was Ardyn and he was from the House of Caelum and one of two candidates capable of becoming the Sovereign of a new civilization. The voice called his name, but it was clearer this time. That voice, it was the voice of his beloved, of his Aera… The voice called out a third time and his vision went blurry, then black, then he saw a field where she lies instead of the cursed lab of the madman blackmailing him. He ventured forward, his body moving of its own accord. His heart was racing as he dragged his heavy feet and ventured toward her.

“Ardyn!” She cried as he fell to his knees beside her.

“Aera!” Ardyn grieved as he pulled her into his arms.

“Forgive me… I defied the will of the gods and revealed to Somnus that you were chosen to be king,” Aera cried, tears staining her pale skin. “I never dreamt that he would try to kill you…”

“He did try, but that was his doing and no fault of yours,” Ardyn corrected her. “Somnus fooled everyone so that he could usurp the throne. Everything that happened to us…”

Ardyn, Adagium- whoever he was- remembered the details of that fateful day. He had travelled home with some difficulty between the strain of the sickness he pulled from others and being hunted by his brother’s men. He should have known what his brother’s intentions were when the soldiers sought him out. Once he had arrived to make contact with the Crystal to determine his fate, his brother had cut him off and told everyone that he, Somnus, was the Chosen King. They wouldn’t let Aera speak up on behalf of the Six because she would have corrected him. That’s when it got ugly. He had warned his brother to back down and follow the path laid by the Astrals so that they may determine the Chosen King as they were intended to. Somnus had refused to back down and they fought until… Aera had gotten between them and Somnus had no qualms in cutting her down in his determination to hide the truth. The madness within him had grown and he, Ardyn the supposed savior, had become a monster in his anger. He had attacked his brother and when he attempted to call upon the gods to share the truth, they had spurned him for the darkness he held in him. Specifically, the Draconian had spurned him and declared him impure and unfit. It was then that his brother cut him down, leaving his body on the floor with his beloved. Ardyn had wished to die, but the gods refused his pleas to be admitted to the afterlife with his beloved Aera, his fiancee.

“It was all his fault!” Ardyn accused, his anger roiling within him.

“NO! Listen to me!” Aera pleaded. “It’s  _ my  _ fault! I’m the one who ruined your future! He never would have slain us if I hadn’t told him of what the Astrals declared of it. This was divine retribution for my sins.”

“You have no sins to atone for!” Ardyn insisted as she clung to him, collapsing in his grasp. “Gods! Answer me! Why have you burdened us with this fate?!”

Before he could receive any sign or response, Aera was gasping for air and her wound from that horrible day was open and that despicable essence was spilling forth as he tried so desperately to stop it with his hands over her abdomen.

“Aera!” Ardyn remorsed. “No! Aera, please!”

“In the names of the gods above, fulfill your calling, Ardyn! Punish me for my sins!” Aera begged as she shoved him away. She couldn’t handle his comfort for it was undeserved. 

“Aera…” Ardyn choked, getting back to his knees. “What are you asking me to do…?”

“Kill me!” Aera demanded, pain and grief muting her scent. 

“Yes, kill her!” Somnus spoke up, approaching from behind his older brother. “Put her out of her misery. After all she is a monster just like you and I put you out of yours, didn’t I?”

Ardyn felt his body grow cold as he felt the weight and saw the gleam of the dagger in his hands. His body seemed to move without his consent as it shifted and readied to plunge the blade into his beloved. As he stared down her writhing form, he couldn’t let it happen. He wouldn’t allow himself to kill her. The more he struggled, the more came back to him. That was never his purpose… He was never meant to punish or harm…

“I… I can’t!” Ardyn breathily cried as he began to lower the dagger. “My calling is to  _ save _ lives, not take them…”

“So you were saving that man by turning him into a daemon?” Somnus chuckled right next to his older brother’s ear. 

“A daemon?” Ardyn questioned, not believing what he was hearing.

“Oh, yes, Brother,” Somnus confirmed. “You’ve been busy all these years. Those tortured minds that you cleared, purging them of the Shifter sickness, ridding them of the rank that was never meant to be in order to give them a permanent reprieve from the two halves that were once at war and fighting for dominance, gave you the twisted energy that lives within you and has evolved into a sickness like no other. You’ve brought back the daemons that we sought to extinguish all those years ago.”

“Please, Ardyn…” Aera breathed, reaching towards him. “You must live…”

“I can’t…” Ardyn sobbed, mirroring her reach. “Not without you… Aera, I don’t know how to exist in this world as it is and to try to move forward is impossible without you…”

“Don’t be rude, Ardyn,” Somnus chuckled with a sick pleasure as his hands grasped around his brother’s and forced the dagger towards the suffering Oracle. “Why not give the lady what she wants?”

Ardyn struggled against his brother, but the young Alpha was so much more willful than he was. He fought against it as long as he could bear, but he found himself losing strength. Before he could register what was happening, the dagger was thrust into Aera, his beloved Alpha, and she was fading faster. He looked on in horror and wrenched his hands away as it sat protruding from her chest.

“Once again, you’ve failed to save her,” Somnus commented. “Though it shouldn’t be a surprise. A monster can do naught but destroy…”

He heard his brother’s sinister chuckle fade away as he prostrated himself on the ground where his beloved had lain. There was so much roiling in his mind and the daemonic energy that those twisted and severed souls within him had become were growing restless, urging him to take action. All those abandoned, shredded personalities were screaming for him to fight back against the bastard Alpha that condemned him to this life of suffering and solitude, to being someone’s lab rat. His rage grew beyond what he could have ever fathomed.

“I’ll never forgive you, Somnus,” Ardyn growled, slamming his hands on the ground. “This monster that you’ve created may not be able to destroy you, but I’ll see to it that I destroy everything you built!”

With his limbs shaking from sheer rage, he rose to stand with the daemonic energy emanating from him the way the sun spreads its light on the so called blessed earth. He tilted his head back and stared into what appeared to be a black abyss of a sky. 

“Hear me, gods above!” Ardyn called into the blackness. “No longer shall I seek your guidance! I shall not execute your so called divine purpose! This path is mine to tread alone! I am done being your pawn! Either aid me in my ventures or stay away, lest you share the fate of the Infernian!” 

Ardyn wasn’t sure what came over him, but he suddenly found it all very humorous. He found himself fighting back the chuckle until it overcame him and he laughed aloud to the room at large. He was entirely unaware of the scientist and the mercenary watching him- one in awe and one in terror. The future was more uncertain than ever before.

“ _ Pray for me sister, Give me a mention. I got no faith, And oh did I mention? I want no trouble! I want no trouble! I want no trouble! I want no trouble!” _

Once Ardyn came down from his… “episode,” Verstael approached with a sadistic grin. Aranea dutifully followed him but kept her distance from the immortal. This was not something she could have ever dreamt up and she wanted no part, but she knew she’d be killed for breaking her contract. Verstael would never allow her to leave in case she might be swayed to alert King Regis to their plans and keeps.

“I see you’ve had a change in heart,” Verstael noted, keeping a respectable distance as he mentally catalogued the changes in the being before him.

“Oh, yes, the path I tread shall be covered in the blood of my brother’s kin,” Ardyn darkly chuckled.

“That’s the spirit,” Verstael commended, relieved at being rid of the old pacifist version of the man before him. He thought for a moment and devised an experiment to test this new and improved version of the immortal. “Would you like a head start?”

Ardyn simply looked the scientist over with his blackened eyes. Was this a trick? A test?

“I see you’ve already forgotten the latest descendent of the so called Founder King is chained up in our chambers,” Verstael pointed out. Perhaps this was a momentary lapse in the immortal’s memory as a result of overloading it with over two thousand years’ worth of memories and knowledge. “You’re more than welcome to start with him. I’ll even have Ms. Highwind prepare him for you. You can torture and kill or go straight for the kill.”

“I very much like the sound of that…” Ardyn mused more to himself than the sick man before him.

“Aranea, gather the appropriate tools and make sure the boy is primed,” Verstael instructed with a wicked grin. “Be sure the tube is removed so that all can hear his screams.”

“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?” Aranea questioned, a look of disgust on her face.

“I don’t know what you mean, Ms. Highwind,” Verstael evaded. 

He grinned at the feeling of victory. One less Lucis Caelum to keep him from harnessing the Crystal’s power. Splendid. Aranea set her jaw and sheathed her sword. This wasn’t any kind of right, not that she cared one way or the other… Yeah, she may have had her fun with the teen and got out some pent up aggression but this kid wasn’t why Adagium was Adagium, he was more like a byproduct of the whole thing. She shook her head and went off to retrieve the cart of horrors as she liked to call it.

_ “Oh, pack it up and hit the road. And only take my lighter. I've seen the glitz, I've seen the glam, But I prefer the pay dirt. I took a photograph of me When I was only nineteen. I looked a little lost at sea. I keep trying to find me…”- _ Imagine Dragons, “Trouble”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry but also not, he is not an actual villain or at least not by choice- This is my story damn it XD No one will ever convince me Verstael is any sort of good there is legit no evidence. Aranea is just pure chaotic neutral ready to feed what ever fire benefits her the most.


End file.
